The Summer of Ruby
by thisvexesme
Summary: A year. A whole year in the lab, mixing dust and building her machine. A machine that could bend time. And Ruby decided to test it on herself. What she found on the other side was something she wasn't ever expecting to find out. Her mother.
1. Chapter 1

It was late. Too late. Something like three in the morning. Ruby rubbed her eyes. The time of day didn't matter. Not now. All that mattered was her work. The glass vials of dust sat patiently in the plastic stand. She grabbed one, filled to the brim with a softly-glowing grey powder. The masking-tape label that read 'gravity' was peeled off as Ruby pulled the rubber stopper out of the vial and poured the contents onto her electronic scale. She looked down at her notebook, smudged with grease and dust. _Twenty six grams,_ she read off to herself, scooping out the correct amount into a large glass beaker. A bit of fire dust was added, followed by a healthy portion of water dust. She glanced over at her machine, sitting patiently in the corner. She remembered the last time she used it. She frowned at it, and turned back to her mixture, adding just a tad more water dust for cooling.

She leaned back on her stool, taking her face away from the noxious beaker. Sighing, she stood up and walked groggily over to the coat-hooks against the opposite wall of the lab, grabbing her dirty white lab coat off of its hook and pulling it loosely over her shoulders. The heavy white cotton pulled down on her tired shoulders as she moved back over to her work station. Her hand slipped into the right-side pocket, pulling out her safety goggles and a pair of yellow rubber gloves. Sitting back down on her stool, she pulled the goggles on and stuffed her hands haphazardly into the gloves. The next step would require intense focus. She grabbed her coffee mug from where it sat off to the side and took a sip.

 _Yuck._

The coffee was cold now. Oh well. The caffeine would keep her awake, anyway. She put the mug back down and grabbed a pair of science forceps from the drawer to her left. She looked over at the locked steel cabinet just behind her work station, where all of the more _volatile_ compounds were kept locked up. It was time. She reached over to it and punched in the correct code, and the lock mechanism opened with a _whump_ from within. The steam from the dry ice cooling system pooled out of the case and onto her desk as she pulled the heavy steel door open. Inside lay another plastic vial stand, filled with ten vials of a crystal-white dust that gave off a black glowing, as if it was absorbing all light around it.

Ruby clicked her forceps a few times to test them, re-adjusted her goggles on her eyes, and gingerly reached inside. Being as careful as she could, she picked up one of the delicate vials and brought it out of the cabinet. She blinked a few times and let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. The tiny glass vial was different from the others, being more ovaloid than cylindrical. The small black printed label read _Time Dilation,_ embossed across the front. She very quickly shut the cold cabinet again, trying to keep the cold inside. Her hand shook slightly with the forceps. She knew any miscalculation or mismeasurement would result in devastating consequences for her, and the laboratory.

The dust in the vial had started to condensate. Any longer being left unmixed and it would liquefy, then boil at this temperature. As carefully as she could, Ruby pulled off the glass stopper with a second set of foreceps and placed it aside. She looked down at her beaker of dust, then back up at the slowly-changing dust in the ovaloid vial. _Here goes nothing,_ she thought to herself as she poured the white crystal powder into the mix. A quick puff of blue smoke rose up out of the beaker, quickly changing to grey and dispersing into the air. Dropping the forceps onto the counter and grabbing a glass stirring rod, she quickly began mixing the contents. Within moments there was a swirling pool of glowing black liquid in her beaker. Grabbing her temperature gun and checking her notes again, she gave a smile at no one in particular and gave a quiet cheer. It was perfect. Exactly as calculated.

She put a large plastic lid onto the rim of the beaker, sealing it for the moment. She stepped away from the counter smiling, satisfied with herself for the moment. She looked over at her machine again. The large glass enclosure, made from an upscale shower stall, stared back at her, its mass of silicone tubing and wires taunting her for a test run. She sighed. Today would have to be the day. Ruby rubbed her eyes again, trying to get rid of the slight stinging.

She walked over to her school bag which sat alone in a corner, and withdrew a deck of cards held tightly together with a fat elastic band, followed by a pair of digital watches and an apple. Unwrapping the cards from their elastic and tossing it back into her bag, she moved over to the machine and opened the glass door. Kneeling down on the lab floor in front of her machine, she slowly constructed a simple house of cards on the felt floor mat inside the stall. Once it was built to her satisfaction, she grabbed the apple and one of the two digital watches, quickly fastening the watch around the fat part of the apple. Moving as gingerly as she could to stop the card-tower from falling, she placed the fruit atop the cards. It wobbled slightly, but remained upright. Ruby sighed internally, relieved that she didn't have to build a card tower tired _twice._

She stepped back from the machine and shut the glass door, kneeling down before it again and checking both watches. They both read three eighteen and twenty-six seconds. Perfectly in sync. Standing up, Ruby brushed a bit of dirt from the front of her lab coat and pulled her goggles back down over her eyes. She walked back over to her work station and picked up the sealed beaker and had one last look at the black liquid within.

Very carefully walking back over to the machine, she pulled the lid from the beaker and slotted it up into a holding receptacle, twisting in to lock it. The machine hummed quietly at this, powering up and flickering with light. The small desktop computer that sat a table next to it came to life, a series of graphs generating themselves on screen. Ruby looked down at them, typing in a few final commands on the dusty old keyboard. She glanced back over at the glass enclosure, where the card tower still stood with the fruit and watch still upon it. It was _time_.

Strolling back over to her work station, she pulled a dark grey crystal from a metal box she had left on the counter. She sniffed, examining it in her hands. The deep purple _gravity_ dust crystal felt weightless in her hand, the soft grey glow it gave off illuminating her palm. Ruby walked back over to her machine, pulled open a small circular door, and pushed the crystal inside. The humming increased slightly and the crystal's glowing became brighter from behind the circular door. She stepped back slightly and placed her hand on a large steel lever affixed to the outside of the machine. One last check of the watches, the time indicating three twenty-one exactly. Ruby pulled the switch. There was a flash of blinding white light, which made her flinch briefly, before the room was dark again. She opened her eyes cautiously and examined the contents of the glass enclosure.

 _Empty!_

Ruby shuddered with joy, a half-smile coming to her face. She wasn't out of the woods just yet. Quickly dashing over to the work station again, she grabbed her temperature gun and a Geiger counter from the drawer, positioned her stool in front of the machine, and sat down on it. The wait felt like an eternity. The silence in the room was deafening. She didn't dare blink, lest she miss it.

"Ruby?"

Ruby nearly leaped out of her skin, and turning to face the source of the intrusive noise, nearly had a heart attack. There in the doorway stood a short, white haired girl with a pale face and _deeply_ sunken eyes, dressed in a long white sleeping gown. The monster spoke again.

"Ruby, why are you still up? You said you'd be done three hours ago..."

She let out a long sigh, relieved that she finally could identify the intruder as Weiss. She stepped off of her stool, and stood up straight, not wanting to fully face her yet. She smiled sheepishly, realizing that she had in fact been up far longer than she had promised.

"Yeah, I know... But lucky I did! I finally figured it out!"

Weiss opened her eyes a little more and stepped into the darkened laboratory, yawning deeply and scratching her eyes. Ruby fought the urge to yawn as well.

"Figure _what_ out? Also, are you using dust? I didn't know you knew about dust manipulation."

Ruby sighed and slumped her butt against the counter top. Weiss trudged over, clearly still mostly asleep and leaned next to her, turning slightly sideways to give her a standing cuddle. Ruby smiled softly as the sleepy girl planted a kiss on her cheek.

"It's not just..." She briefly forgot what she was saying on account of Weiss cuddling her side. "...Dust manipulation, it's chemistry. And physics! I finally solved the equation I've been working on!"

Weiss looked slightly up at her through messy bangs.

"What equation?"

Ruby turned her head so her face was right in Weiss's, who in a sleepy state, blushed a little and giggled.

" _Time Exploitation!_ I've been working for a while on how to more accurately manipulate time! Like the way you do with your glyphs, but like, more!"

Weiss leaned back slightly, a confused look crossing her face. Her voice wavered from the lack of sleep.

"How do you exploit time?"

Ruby stepped away from Weiss's grasp, and swung her arms in a wide arc.

"Think about it. What is time? It's the effect of gravity on moving particles! Like when there's a black hole, the gravity is so immense that it manipulates the way that particles move, giving the effect of different time! I've been working on a way to bend time to my liking using different amounts of gravity dust and trying to perfect a process where I can bend it to my will!"

Weiss looked perplexed, making Ruby smile again.

"Are you talking about... time travel?"

Ruby smiled and looked down at her watch.

"If you can wait... nineteen seconds, we can find out _together._ What do you think?"

Weiss grabbed a stool and placed it down next to Ruby's original one and sat down. They waited.

"What are we waiting for?"

"Science, Weiss. Science."

The last ten seconds were like an eternity. Ruby's heart thumped loudly in her chest, the agony was real. She wasn't fully sure what she was expecting to happen. The empty enclosure stared back at her, taunting her with the polished glass walls and chrome handles. This was it. A year of small experiments with dust and collecting parts from around the city led up to this. The machine started to hum again. She looked down at her watch. Two seconds. She closed her eyes. There was a blinding white light, followed by a wave of heat. Ruby opened her eyes.

 _Holy shit._

Even Weiss gasped. There they were. Exactly like they had been one minute ago. The cards, the apple, the watch. Ruby wanted to jump forward. She held up the Geiger counter and the temperature gun. Both read nominal. She couldn't even speak. No radiation poisoning, it wasn't on fire, and it was still all standing. It had worked. She stepped off her chair and cautiously stepped forward, slowly pulling the glass door open. She picked up the apple and examined the watch she had wrapped around it. Weiss made a curious noise.

 _It worked. It fucking worked._

"Weiss, look. The times. They're exactly one minute apart!"

She couldn't control her excitement. The two digital watches were still clicking away, the one from the machine precisely sixty seconds behind the once she had been wearing. She jumped for joy, dropping the apple in the process, causing Weiss to flinch. Ruby pranced about the room, giggling with glee and shouting 'It fucking works' over and over. In her haste, she tripped over her own feet and came crashing down to the tile floor. Weiss quickly came to her rescue and helped her back up, but not before a bout of giggling at her dismay.

"Be careful, you dolt. I can't believe you sent something through time! How is that even possible?!"

"Weiss, I think you need to go back to bed. I'll explain it in the morning, okay? Even I'm too tired for this."

Weiss pouted.

"Fine. But you need to come back to bed too. Don't you have sparring practice with Blake first thing?"

Ruby sat back down on her stool, still a little awestruck.

"Yeah, I guess. Suppose I won't be very good, eh?"

"Yeah. Come back to bed Ruby, after you've finished cleaning up, of course." she turned to leave, and reached the door in her sleepy stupor. "And if you're not in your pyjamas and in bed in five minutes, I will be very cross with you!"

Ruby smiled at her friend and sighed. It was impossible to deny the requests of Weiss. Most especially given their... romantic entanglement.

"Of course, Weiss. I'll see you in a few."

"I love you..."

Ruby smiled, a lonely tear coming to her eye. She brushed it away.

"I love you too."

The door closed. The darkness in the unlit laboratory overwhelmed her again. She blinked a few times, letting her eyes adjust. The machine still hummed quietly off to the side of the room, the computer screen glowing softly where it sat on a small table. She turned, and made to step forward, before pausing, unsure of herself. She wanted to test it again. The machine still had enough of the glowing black liquid for a second run. What would she test?

She approached the machine unconsciously, gliding forward against her will. She looked down at the computer. The _destination time_ file was still open. She punched a few numbers in. A few minutes into the future again. She knew that she could only send herself forward until she had finished her return pad, lest she get stuck in the past or create a temporal loop. Again. The infinity apple still made her laugh, despite the implications. She pulled open the door of the glass enclosure and stepped inside. A little screen on the inside of the door confirmed her destination; one minute forward again. She pulled her goggles down and took a deep breath. She was _ready._

The machine began to hum again. It wouldn't fail, she knew it. This was her specialty. No matter how many times Weiss made fun of her for being poor at certain subjects, Ruby still could trounce her any day in Merlot's advanced particle physics class. She could feel the air around her begin to move. Her particles were about to fundamentally change. Would it hurt? Would it work? It was supposed to. That's what a year of testing was for. She was about to be the first person to travel through time. She closed her eyes, and counted down the seconds. There was a bright flash, and then...

...nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She opened her eyes. Something was very wrong. She looked around the room. It was dark, but it was still the laboratory she had started in. Her work station was clean, the volatile dust chest was in it's place, the coat hanger on the side of the room was hanging slightly to one side as it always did. She frowned. Wait, why was her work station clear? She looked down at herself. All still there. She moved her hands over her own body, making sure there was no pain and no injury. Lab coat, check. Boobs, check. Face, check. Everything she had started with was in order, so why did everything feel off? She reached forward to push open the glass enclosure and exit the machine.

 _Crack._

For the second time that day, Ruby found herself on the ground face first in a pile of her own misery. She quickly got up on her knees and clutched her nose, the pain being a little offensive at this point. She turned to look back over at the machine. _It wasn't there!_ Ruby's eyes went wide, and her heart ceased beating. This wasn't supposed to happen. Her eyes shot over to the wall clock in the corner. It showed five-fifteen in the morning.

Her breathing returned to normal as she placed a relieved hand on her chest. Professor Merlot often showed up at five in the morning and moved Ruby's machine out of the lab and into the science closet down the hall, as there was a class at eight and he liked his lab space to be cleared. Her eye twitched a little as she realized he probably wouldn't like that she had left the lab in such a mess before her final test. She knew she could explain it as a miscalculation on her part. The machine had sent her an hour and a half forward, instead of a minute and a half. Simple mistake, he'd understand.

She walked towards the laboratory door, and looked for her school bag, which she thought had been placed next to it. She frowned when she discovered it wasn't there. Oh well, it was probably in Merlot's office waiting for her. She didn't need it now. What she needed was a shower before her sparring match with Blake. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes. Then it came to her.

 _Holy shit, I just time travelled!_

Her eyes lit up and she jumped for joy, spinning around in circles and laughing like an idiot. She had just successfully been the first person on Remnant to actually bend time to their will and pass though it. She needed to make note of it. Pulling her pencil and a note pad out of her lab coat, she scribbled down her first impressions of the journey.

 _Test #184, March 1_ _st_ _, 2017: first human transfer_

 _Success! I have finally perfected the formula for time manipulation,_

 _and my testing has proved that humans and other organisms are_

 _unaffected by the chronal subfields and radiation effects!_

 _No adverse feelings, My body is in order after the transfer!_

 _I may have made an error in inputting the time code as I_

 _seem to have gone 60 times further forward than anticipated._

 _This is not an issue, of course, it was only an hour and a half._

 _Weiss will only be a little upset._

 _Furthermore, I will continue to make improvements to the machine_

 _and make more jumps later today, once Merlot unlocks the science closet._

She sighed down at her note pad, still a little shaken from her discovery. Time travel. Wow. She wiped her brow, her hand coming down covered in sweat. _Gross._ She pulled her goggles off of her head and lay them down on top of her note pad on the counter. Perhaps Merlot would see it and return the machine to the laboratory in time for lunch break. He'd kill to see the machine in action. She shrugged the lab coat higher up onto her shoulders slightly, fumbling around in her pants pocket for her wallet. Pulling it open, she smiled momentarily at the small picture of Weiss she kept on her at all times, then pulled a five lien note out and placed it down on her note pad, scribbling _for your coffee_ onto the open page. Finally satisfied and bent on having a wash, she left the laboratory.

The hallway outside seemed different somehow. Maybe it was because she never really saw the hallway in the soft dawn light, never really being one to be up at this hour of the morning. The tile floor of the science building looked almost new, it was so polished. She smiled at the efforts of their cleaning service. The Science Centre was always the cleanest building on campus. She quickly found herself in the atrium, and the early morning sun was shining through the enormous picture window and down onto the set of couches that were positioned next to the info desk.

Ruby paused for a second. Info desk? This wasn't here yesterday. She looked on nervously. Perhaps they had a new one installed last night after dinner while she was in the lab. The science council was always petitioning to have one put back in for the first years who kept getting lost in the maze-like science building. She smiled a little, remembering a story her dad told her of a time him and Qrow unbolted it from the floor and moved it to the athletics complex as a joke, going on about how all of the meat-headed jocks needed direction in life. Back in their day there _had_ been an info desk here. It filled her with a sense of second-hand nostalgia. Anyway, on to the athletics complex for a shower. She pushed the large glass door of the science building open and stepped outside.

Her hand came up to her face to shield it from the sunlight. The courtyard sat before her, the imposing brass statue of the two warriors looked polished within an inch of its life. This seemed a bit out of place. Wasn't this statue a dark faded brown? She payed it no mind as she walked down the long main interlock-stone road that lead to the centre of the complex. No other students were out today, especially not at this hour. There were usually students hanging around out here, playing Frisbee usually, shaded by the canopies of the large trees that lined the...wait, why were all the trees so short?

She stopped mid-stride to have a look. No, it couldn't be. All the trees looked no higher than about five feet tall. Instinctively, she checked her watch. Five-thirty. She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. She'd been awake for something like twenty hours at this point. She blamed the discrepancy in tree height on her _very_ tired eyes. She increased her march towards the athletic building.

The girl's locker room seemed different than she remembered. For starters, it was actually a segregated and private _girls-only_ locker room. She was too tired to really consider what happened to the unisex changing room she had used not but yesterday morning. She found her locker and punched in her code, but the door wouldn't open. Was she at the wrong locker? Eh, it didn't matter this morning. She'd have a word with the groundskeeper again. This stupid locker needed resetting on the weekly. She moved over to the showers, slowly pulling off the lab coat as she entered the shower room.

There was the very distinct sound of someone already in the shower. Pyrrha usually got up early to shower, but she wasn't sure if she got up _this_ early. Sticking her head around around the corner and into the showers, she could make out the figure of a young woman. She certainly was _tall_ enough to be Pyrrha. And... voluptuous enough. But her messy light-blond hair was a violent contrast to the incredible red she was expecting to see. The new girl turned around, alerted by a noise Ruby hadn't realized she had made. Her dark green eyes, magnified by the thin-rimmed glasses shone brightly in the fluorescent lighting.

"Hello. And who might you be?"

Ruby's voice eluded her. This gorgeous vixen had stolen the speech right out from her throat. The tall blond woman turned her back for a moment and donned a pearl white bathrobe, and upon turning back around, Ruby could see the letters 'G.G.' embroidered across the left breast. Something seemed familiar about this person. Ruby retreated back around the corner. She shook her head. That couldn't be right. There was no way this was who she thought it was.

"I'm sorry, did I frighten you? Please come back!"

Ruby took a deep breath, and cautiously turned back around and entered the showers, brushing her hair from her face and straightening her back. There was no reason to be shy in front of such a beautiful person. The moment she was back in view, the previously confident green eyes went suddenly wide and the girl stepped back, bowing her head. Ruby stopped. Was there something on her face?

"My apologies, professor, it was not my intention to appear rude!"

 _Professor?_ Ruby looked down at herself. Still wearing the lab coat. She looked like a teacher! She laughed.

"Oh, I'm not a professor, I'm a student! I forgot to return my coat is all. Weiss says I can be so absent minded, sometimes."

The girl looked perplexed, and stepped forward. Ruby had to look away. The gorgeous blond seemed to glide effortlessly across the wet floor, her long, luxurious legs making her almost float through the room. Bad Ruby. You _have_ a girlfriend. The blond reached her hand out, coming inches from Ruby's hair.

"Hold on, you have something... why do you have a fruit sticker in your hair? And who's Weiss?"

Ruby turned to meet the luscious green eyes, still hidden behind the glasses. _Who was Weiss_? What an absurd question! Ruby let the woman pull the sticker out of her hair. _Probably got there when I fell on the floor,_ she guessed. So did probably ten pounds of dirt. She rubbed her face on her sleeve. Her nose still stung from its earlier encounter with tile, but a quick check of her sleeve indicated no sign of blood. She smiled internally. At least she wouldn't have a broken nose. She frowned again, remembering the woman's initial question.

"What do you mean, _who's Weiss,_ she's the smartest girl in the school! You know, short, beautiful, silvery-white hair, wears a combat skirt? Student body president? Hangs around with me all the time?"

The blond stepped back slightly, a concerned look on her face.

"Are you alright? You seem a little a little frazzled. I suppose I can understand, the first day of school can get to even the best of us."

Ruby blinked absently a few times. First day of _what_? The blond extended a hand in a more professional greeting.

"No matter, mother always told me to be courteous, and even strange people need friends. Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you, my name is Glynda. And who might you be?"

Ruby raised her arm to shake. Glynda, what a lovely name. Wait, Glynda? Why did that seem...

 _Oh no._

"Glynda? G-Glynda... Goodwitch?"

The blond withdrew her hand nervously.

"Yes, that's my name...should I know who you are, miss?"

Ruby's legs wobbled underneath her. No, it couldn't be true. It just wasn't possible. She staggered backwards, afraid. She had to leave. There was a nauseous swirling sensation in her chest. Her back came in contact with the wall, and she slumped on it for a second. She was beginning to hyperventilate. The blond opened her mouth to speak. Ruby didn't want to hear anything else. The reality of where she was had started to sink in. She needed it to not be real. She bolted for the door.

The wind whipped against her face as she dashed back out into the courtyard, her eyes frantically scanning around for something to prove her wrong. She took off again, towards the Beacon main building, intent on visiting the one person she knew could clear up everything. Just five steps into her blind sprint, she ran into something. Something angry. Both her and her target tumbled to the ground, a mass of fabric and shrieking. Ruby rolled onto her knees, shouting her apology over her shoulder as she stood up to keep running. A very brusque voice shouted after her.

"Watch it, you jerk! Come back here and face me like a man!"

A glance backwards mid-stride made her almost vomit. The person she had run into was sitting on her ass on the ground, her black and red jacket ruffled and dirty, and the long feathery black hair on her head was now more dishevelled. Her _piercing_ red eyes were trained on Ruby, and it made her want to cry as she ran. _Not like this, please!_ The boy standing next to her was similarly imposing in his grey jacket and red cape, his similarly red eyes seemed softer somehow? And he was smiling? Ruby turned her face back forward. She need to see the Headmaster. She didn't want to be right about these two people. It was impossible!

Blasting through the doors of the main building, she narrowly avoided slamming into a muscular blond boy who was having a friendly sounding argument with a _very_ tall green-haired boy just inside the door. She turned back to look at them, but their identities didn't click in her head. The final corridor towards the Headmaster's office seemed like it was a thousand miles long as she sprinted towards it. Stopping just short so she didn't break through, she hammered her fist on the door. After a moment of silence, a quiet voice came from inside.

" _Come in, child."_

Ruby very briefly hesitated, but opened the door and walked in. There, sitting behind a desk, was the one person she desperately needed to see. But even _he_ was different. His usually silver hair was very dark, with hints of grey around the edges. Freckles adorned his face, and his eyes had more colour in them. He was still the man she was expecting, just so much younger. No matter, she pushed on.

"Professor Ozpin, sir, I..."

He held up a hand, silencing her. She wanted to keep talking but she somehow found herself unable. He stood up slowly from his desk, circling around to the front, infamous cane in hand. His expression was soft and understanding. He gestured for her to sit. She sat.

"I know who you are, and why you are here, Miss Rose."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak, but the headmaster raised a hand and gestured for her to be silent. He strolled calmly over to the side of the room, before pouring himself a cup of coffee from a spherical glass carafe. He paused to take a sip of his coffee, the steam from the cup fogging his thin circular glasses. He turned from his spot across the room, looking over at her. Ruby felt confused.

"Do you like fairy tales, Miss Rose?"

Ruby nodded after a few seconds of contemplation. She wondered why this would be relevant at this moment.

"Then I assume you've heard the tale of the Four Maidens. Do you remember how they acquired their powers?"

She sat back in her chair, perplexed. She remembered, of course. The great wizard of the seasons bestowed the abilities of life upon the four women, granting each the power to create life. This fairy tale had been proven true to her, having herself actually _met_ the Fall Maiden, a young woman by the name of Amber. She was nice. The part of the story pertaining to the wizard himself was widely disputed as being just a clever part of the story. She wondered precisely what the Headmaster was insinuating.

"I will spare you the long details, Miss Rose. I will put it like this; you are not the first person to travel different to the passage of time, but you _are_ the first to do it artificially. Now, before you assume that _I_ was the one who gave them their power, no, I did not. But I am aware of the person who did. We are one and the same, yet different. Do you understand?"

Ruby shook her head, no.

"We exist at the same time, but years apart. Our auras are in a constant state of being, as one. Myself, the man before me, and the ones after, it is the true nature of our semblance. A sort of... temporal loop, like you created, or rather, will create, with the infinity apple. And yes, I know about that, Miss Rose."

"W-what do I do?"

The headmaster smiled at her from behind his glasses, and walked over to the cabinet that sat on the other edge of the room. Upon opening it, he pulled out a long white hooded cloak, gingerly examining the fabric in his fingers. Why was he frowning at it? The cloak was placed into her hands.

"Blend in, for now. Become a student. I will help you rebuild your machine, should you wish to go home, but I warn you that anything you here do will forever change your future, Miss Rose. Do you understand?"

Ruby looked up at the man, concerned. She understood. This was fundamentally against every rule she knew about time travel. _Kill even one bug,_ she remembered. It was her own rule. She stood up, trying to look determined. But she was scared. Her voice wavered.

"I understand, Professor Ozpin, sir."

"Excellent, Miss Rose. And Call me Headmaster Pine, for the time being. I am not Ozpin _yet._ Not for another ten years, at least."

Ruby allowed herself to be guided back to the door, nodding. Was she prepared for the reality of the situation? She had to be. It just became real in her head. The machine malfunctioned, and instead of being sent forward one and a half minutes in time, she had been sent one and a half decades _backwards._ And she had met Glynda. And run over Raven and Qrow. She suddenly realized that she may have also run into Doctor Oobleck as well, but his blond friend still eluded her conscience. She was just too tired and _way_ to worried to remember him right now, as her head was just a mess of screaming. She pulled off her lab coat and donned the white cloak, handing the coat back to the headmaster. She looked up at the man as she did up the top of the cloak around her neck and pulled the hood over her hair. He was smiling down at her.

"I trust you to act to your own best interests. Don't forget about initiation tomorrow morning. You'll need a weapon, and perhaps a new outfit."

She took the credit card he held out to her, examining the Beacon Academy logo embossed across the front. She pocketed it, turning her hooded face up to his again.

"Thank you, Professor."

He placed a hand in her shoulder and turned her around, gently pushing her away from his office. She needed to go, now. And she needed to prepare herself. She was a first year again. _Again._ And with her parents! Her heart skipped a little when she realized that she'd get to meet her dad as a student. As well as her... mother. _I'm not prepared for this._ She walked cautiously away from Ozpin's office, turning back over her shoulder after a few strides. Ozpin was giving her a determined smile.

"Good luck. Summer."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ruby frowned down at her oatmeal. It was terrible. Completely, utterly, horribly terrible. It oozed of the spoon in a repulsive drip. What in gods' name was it made of? Wet cement? The cooking she had been used to was so incredibly better than this. But that staff wouldn't be around for the next eighteen years. A pity, really. She took another bite of the disgusting sludge. At least it was food, and it would help re-energize her for the day she had planned. First clothes shopping, then weapons shopping, then grocery shopping. It would be a long day, especially considering she hadn't actually slept yet. She sank down a little on the bench. Normally she sat way over in the middle of the dining room, hanging out with her friends and being sociable, but the headmaster had recommended that she try to blend in and not seem out of place, so she had taken up temporary residence way over in the far corner of the mess hall. Nobody would bother her here. Also, what had he called her? _Summer?_ That couldn't be right. She was here _looking_ for Summer. She slumped her shoulders under her new cloak. She figured it might have been an error in his words. They did look alike, after all. A motion at her side alerted her. She turned in her seat slightly, to find Glynda standing not a foot away, a tray of food in hand. She gestured to the seat across from her.

"Hello, stranger. Mind if I sit with you? No one else here seems very nice."

Ruby looked up at her from under her hood and nodded passively. The tall, beautiful, be-speckled blond sat down across from her, her tray covered in a large pile of waffles. Almost too many than would or _should_ be normal for a woman of her figure. Ruby watched her perplexed as she began ferociously ingesting the syrup-smothered breakfast. Glynda looked over at her, mouth full of waffle.

"What?" She swallowed, and jabbed her fork into another waffle. "I like waffles. Just like you like peeking on girls in the shower. Don't judge."

Ruby dropped her spoon, which clattered to the floor. _Excuse me?!_ She looked so incredibly nonplussed as she continued eating. Ruby's mouth hung open. She did _not_ like peeking at girls in the shower! Glynda just _happened_ to be there and be disrobed when she went to the showers. Also, wasn't it Glynda herself, actually _Professor Goodwitch,_ who said that one should always make time to appreciate fine art? Ruby caught herself staring. Her face flushed and she looked away, ashamed of herself for even thinking about her, the way her messy, yet perfectly curled hair framed her face, the way her eyes sparkled a stunning green...

 _Fuck, I did it again! Bad Ruby!_

She reached under the table to retrieve her spoon from where it had fallen under the table. She saw it, sitting next to Glynda's shoes. Reaching for it, her eyes unconsciously drifted up the long legs above them. The perfect white skin guided her vision up, a journey of a thousand miles on the _very_ tall girl's legs. Her line of sight was directed to her uniform's skirt, the pleated plaid fabric was suddenly very alluring. Glynda's legs opened, her calves flexing as she became more persistent in shovelling more waffle in her mouth. Ruby unconsciously looked up the skirt. Right at the forbidden zone lay a set of pale pink panties with the words ' _Consume Immediately After Opening'_ printed across the front. Ruby's body jolted upward, her head colliding with the underside of the table with a resounding _crack._ She whipped her head out from under the table, her face a shade of scarlet that would be rivalled by her own red...cloak? She looked down at it again. _White!_ It was coming together in her head.

"So what's your name anyway, strange person. I find it very difficult to befriend someone who has no name, you know."

Ruby clutched the side of her head where it had smacked the table. Her face scrunched up in pain. She met Glynda's eyes.

 _Why are you..._

"Ever heard of a woman named 'Summer Rose'?"

 _...So fucking hot?_

Glynda shook her head, no, her luscious blond curls dancing back and forth, her mouth full of waffle again. Ruby nodded passively. The realization was coming to her now, the white cloak she was wearing, the fact she had already met Qrow and Raven, and that all the adults in her life from before were here now, as teenagers. She'd been here, in this time, for almost five hours now, and hadn't yet caught a glimpse of her mother. That was the entire purpose of her machine in the first place. She had intended to come back to this time at some point to meet her, after first perfecting a method to return to the present. She looked back at Glynda, who had ceased eating and had pressed her face into a book.

"Are you sure you've never heard of her? She's about my height, same hair, silver eyes, pale complexion, should be a first year about this time, wears a white..."

She stopped mid-sentence. It made sense now. What Ozpin had said earlier made _sense._ Glynda looked up at her over the edge of her book.

"I get it. I understand it now!"

Glynda dropped her book onto the table.

"What do you get?"

Ruby straightened her back and slammed her fist onto the table.

" _I_ am Summer Rose!"

"Such a lovely name for a lovely girl"

Ruby nearly leaped out of her skin at the sudden voice behind her head, soft, yet masculine. She turned her head around to meet the voice. There stood a reasonably tall boy with light blond hair, bright lilac eyes, and very tanned skin. He was wearing a deep beige vest over his otherwise bare chest and bright yellow shorts. He seemed very attractive. Ruby had to look away. _Why me? Why today?_ She eyed the boy's companion. _Oh for fuck's sake._ It was Doctor Oobleck, only much younger, his very distinct green hair slicked way back and cut short, his face wearing a set of thick square black-rimmed glasses, and his uniform was a little messy at the moment, necktie ajar. Both he and the blond boy sat down on her side of the long table. Glynda addressed them dismissively.

"Hey _Blondie_. Who's your friend?"

The blond boy laughed as he settled himself down on the bench.

"Good to see you too, _Badwitch._ This is Bart. I met him on the airship over here. Well, not met per se, more like I tripped over his sleeping body. Dumbass here was snoozin' on the floor of the ship, taking up like seven feet of space."

Blondie punched his friend in the arm, meriting a lazy response from the green-haired boy.

"Whatever, man. Like, everyone needs their sleep. It's your fault for wanting to rush everywhere, you know. Maybe just like...slow down."

Ruby watched this exchange, perplexed. Was this really the famous Doctor Oobleck? He was so lethargic! Where was the running around imperceptibly, the super-sonic speech patters, the self-refilling thermos of coffee? This boy surely was an imposter! She questioned him as such.

"Doctor Oobleck, sir, have you had your coffee yet?"

Bart frowned over at her, his eyes glazed over, as if they were in a constant state of exhausted.

"Coffee? Terrible stuff. I'd never be caught dead drinkin' that shit. 'Parently it makes you all hyper an' shit. And the hell do you mean 'Doctor', I ain't no narc."

Ruby pursed her lips at the boy, furrowing her brow. This wasn't how she remembered him. A tired stoner? Ridiculous. She locked over at Glynda's tray and eyed her mug of coffee. She reached over and picked it up, sliding it over to where Bart sat. Both Glynda and Blondie perked their eyes up. She put on a serious tone.

"Bart. Drink."

He gave her a 'whatever' look and grabbed the mug, bringing it up to his face. The instant the coffee-scented steam entered his nose Ruby could see his pupils visibly dilate. He, too, perked his eyebrows, looking over at her. Ruby nodded at him expectantly. He took a sip.

"That's it pal. Might wake your dumbass up, even!"

Bart froze mid-sip, oblivious to Blondie's taunt. He seemed entranced. The mug was placed gently down on the table, and the green-haired boy stood slowly. He nodded to the three of them, and spoke in a slow, level tone. His voice wavered slightly, as if he was trying to keep in control.

"My friends, it was nice to meet you. I'm afraid I have business elsewhere. Good day."

And with that, Bart exploded away. The force of the whirlwind that he created was enough to knock over the dishes on the table and knock Ruby's hood down. She smiled at the green blur as it shot across the enormous dining hall and out the main doors. A few other students shrieked at the sudden movement, sending glances over their way at where it had come from. Ruby laughed at their dismay. Little did they know. Ruby's gaze was directed to the door again as a loud curse came from it as it opened. Her eyes fell. There she was again, the girl she ran over that morning. Blondie smacked her in the shoulder.

"Summer, check it out! There she is again! That girl with the black hair!"

Ruby looked over at him. Now she had a moment to actually look at him, she began to recognize him, slightly.

"Oh, yeah, what about her?" she asked, distracted by her own focus on his face.

"Man, she's so hot. What I wouldn't give to just talk to her once."

Glynda snorted at him.

" _Just talk?_ Coming from you, 'Horn-dog Xaio Long'? Please. You'll be trying to sleep with her the first chance you get, buddy."

It clicked. Tan, blond, lilac eyes, beige vest. This was him. She stared at him, completely ignoring the argument he was having with Glynda. It was her _father._ She was fraternizing with her own freaking _father._ She shivered, the sirens in her head were deafening now. She had thought him attractive earlier. She suddenly felt violently sick, her face going pale. Fingers were snapped before her face. She looked up at it's source. It was him, still.

"You alright, Summer? You seem a bit ill. You know her or something?" he asked, gesturing over his shoulder at the girl they had been talking about a few moments ago. She looked arbitrarily, so as to not be staring at him anymore. She smiled when she finally realized who they were talking about.

"Oh yeah, that's Raven. She's like, super mean. I may have almost run her over this morning, so that's why she's really sour."

"Oh, come on, Summer, no one's that mean. Besides, you know her, so do you think you could introduce me?"

Both Glynda and Ruby snorted.

"Yeah, for sure. You're destined to be together, after all."

Glynda laughed _visibly._

"The only thing Tai is destined for is a string of gay women he doesn't realize are gay, followed by immense sadness and depression."

Tai perked his eyebrows over to her. Ruby's heart sank. She wasn't far off, actually.

"What's that supposed to mean, Glyn? I have excellent luck with women! And now, Summer here's gonna help me land another one, Right Summer?"

Ruby nodded, feigning excitement. She pushed her tray away from herself and stood up from the bench.

"Hey, do you guys want to come to town with me? I need to go shopping, and I don't really want to go alone." She asked of her two sort-of new friends. Tai and Glynda stood up as well, bright smiles on their faces.

"Sure, Summer, where are we going?"

"Well..." she said, clasping her hands together "...If I'm gonna help Tail land a girl, let alone _that_ one, I'll be needing a new outfit. This one is a little... we'll say _unprofessional._ This style is _so_ eighteen years from now." she said, gesturing down at her current attire, the tired black slacks and burgundy dress shirt stained from her time spent in the lab. They began the long walk to the parking lot at the edge of campus. Glynda perked up.

"Sounds suspiciously like 'shopping spree,' Summer."

"Damn right, Glyn. And while we're out, I'll need to grab a new weapon to fight off any errant boys who try to talk her first. Tai comes first."

Her face went pale at her own implications, inciting a small chuckle from the two blonds.

"Not what I meant, but anyway, I also need to go buy food and stuff. I hope one of you has a car."

Tai smacked her on the shoulder, making her wince slightly. They had arrived at the gravel lot, filled to capacity with a collection of very expensive sports cars, clearly

"Ha! If only! If I did, I'm pretty sure I'd already have a girlfriend. Girls like guy's with cars! Right girls?"

Both Ruby and Glynda shook their heads at him. Right around the corner, behind some rich kid's Range Cruiser was Glynda's car. Ruby's eyes went wide as she took it in. It was a vintage white VHI Bantam off-roader, complete with the old-school _Renegade_ stickers on the sides of the hood. It was in every way Ruby's dream car, no doors, no roof, and all.

"Holy shit, you drive a _Bantam?!_ Man, this is so _retro!_ I always wanted one of these!"

Glynda stopped mid-stride and turned around, a concerned look on her face for the second time since they met. Ruby suddenly realized her error. In this time, the _Renegade_ Bantam wouldn't have been considered a classic.

"What do you mean, _retro,_ Summer? This car is brand new. Doesn't even have six thousand miles on it. Are you feeling alright?"

Ruby laughed nervously as she climbed over the rear fenders and into the back seat, feeling a little cramped as she positioned herself in the middle of the tiny rear bench seats. Glynda and Tai settled themselves into the front seats, the car's heavy eight-cylinder engine rumbling into life, causing a bright smile to come to the owner's face. Clearly she liked her own car. Glynda's newfound cheerful attitude seemed almost contagious, as she chunked the long gear-lever into reverse and carefully reversed out of the spot between the two hugely expensive SUV, before fumbling around for first gear and pulling forward. Ruby's eyes lit up.

"You can drive stick, Glynda? Man, that is so _hot."_

Her hand shot to cover her mouth at the outburst. _WHAT THE FUCK, ME._ She turned a vibrant red, not at all hidden by her hand. Tai turned around in his seat and began laughing at her misery. Ruby wanted to smack him in the face. But would that be okay? This man, despite being only seventeen, was still supposed to be her dad. She stayed her hand for the moment. _Let him laugh, he'll get his comeuppance in time_. When they reached the edge of the parking lot where it met the road, Glynda turned slightly in her seat and winked back at Ruby. She melted in her seat. This was not her intention. She _had_ a girlfriend already! She wouldn't be born for the next six months, but that wasn't the point! She was taken! _But she's so attractive!_ Her mind argued. _And this is my one chance!_ She closed her eyes and tried to clear her head as they pulled out onto the street. Glynda's voice piped up, making Ruby open her eyes again.

"Man, I'm glad it's September and we can keep the top of the jeep off. You two agree?"

Tai laughed.

"Yeah, it's definitely top-off weather, eh ladies?"

Needless to say, Taiyang got smacked.


	4. Chapter 4

"So what do you think?"

Ruby spun in place in the little changing room, giving her new blond lady-friend a three-sixty view of the pink mini-skirt she had chosen. The look on Glynda's face _screamed_ disapproval. Perhaps not, then.

"Try something more dark-coloured. Wearing white and pink together makes you seem like a cheap cosplayer. Or a small child. Here, look, try this."

Glynda passed her a dark grey pleated summer dress, and pushed her back into the private changing stall.

"I knew a girl who wore pink with white."

"Was she overly excitable and a little weird?"

Ruby paused. That was almost an exact description of Nora.

"...yeah."

"There you go. If you're certain on keeping the white cloak, you'll need to wear something that doesn't draw the eye away from your face. Bright colours on your skin will detract from your natural beauty, Summer."

 _Wow,_ that was direct. Ruby found herself back in her little shame hole, where she couldn't decide whether she was allowed to flirt with this woman. On the one hand, she shouldn't, since she was in a relationship with her best friend already, but on the other hand, she wouldn't be born for the next six months. It made her a little upset. No, it made her _livid_ that she couldn't decide. For now, she had to suck it up and play along. Thus was the charade anyways.

"Well, thank you, Glyn, that's very sweet. I think I like this dress."

She stepped out of the stall, the dress bouncing around her legs as she did. Glynda's eyes were drawn down to her legs. Ruby stopped, suddenly uncomfortable. The blond's cheeks had started glowing red. She gestured for her to spin around. Ruby spun, feeling the dress float up a little.

"Hey girls, there's a popcor- woah. Holy shit, Summer, you look _amazing."_

Ruby jumped a little at Tai's sudden appearence. She thought they had lost him somewhere in the mall when he wandered off into a comic shop, but apparently not.

"Tai, shut up, I'm thinking. Here, put your cloak on."

Ruby took the garment held out to her and slung it over her shoulders, tossing the hood up over her hair and did her best 'mysterious villain' stance with her head down and arms inside the cloak. She head her friends gasp.

"Very nice 'mysterious villain' look, you got going on there, Summer!"

Ruby smiled at Tai from under her hood.

"Would you believe me if I told you that was the look I was going for?"

The two blonds laughed with her.

"Then I'd say you master the look. But I do have to ask why all the belts around the mid-section? Did I miss a memo where girls are required to wear six belts at once?" the taller blond questioned.

Ruby adopted a warrior's stance and whipped her cloak around her, imitating what wind would do.

"Don't you know" she asked, smirking "The number of belts is indicative of my power level!"

"You're weird, Summer. But I...ahem, _we_ like you anyways, right Tai?"

The boy seemed intent on staring at Ruby's feet.

"Your boots are made entirely of buckles, Summer. Care to explain?"

Ruby smiled at him.

"Well, Glynda wear ass-kicking shoes, right?"

Glynda nodded at her.

"I do."

"Well I wear _face-smashing_ shoes, Tai. Can't knock a beowolf's teeth out wearing Mary Janes, you know."

Glynda giggled at her.

"She's right, you know. I'm satisfied with your outfit. Are you?"

"I am! I look like a million lien! Wait, I hope it doesn't _cost_ a million lien."

Ruby actually felt mild pangs of fear as she walked over to the cash. She had her credit card on her, should she need it, and she had plenty of cash in her wallet, but every bit of money she had was from almost twenty years _in the future._ Did that make her cash counterfiet? No, because they had 'This Is Legal Tender' written on each bill. But the printing dates? She was suddenly very nervous. The cashier looked up at her and furrowed his brow.

"By any chance are you Miss Summer Rose?"

Ruby nodded silently, taken aback slightly.

"Excellent. Headmaster Pine called ahead and all of your purchases will be on the school account today. But I will still need to take the security tags off of everything, of course."

Ruby's heart skipped. She gingerly handed over her purchases. Had she really just gotten away with that? She looked back over to where Glynda and Tai were, blatantly oblivious of her as they had become caught up in some argument. She didn't need them to know about her ' _predicament'_ just yet. Or at all, really. She collected the clothing back from the man, smiling nervously.

 _I don't think I'll get used to this._

She collected the two arguing blonds and took them from the store, guiding them around the mall, distracted. She still need to buy a weapon. Just the thought made her sick. Her precious _Crescent Rose_ had been left behind in the future. _Wow, that barely made sense in my head._ Up ahead on the right was a weapon shop, the large glass display out front filled with polished swords and sheilds. Not that she wanted any of _those_ awful things. She just wanted her scythe. She frowned at the store. She knew she couldn't have one in this time, scythes were Qrow's thing. She needed something distinctly... Summer.

Inside the store had the familiar smell of grease and steel, and the shelves were lined with so much iron, Ruby feared the floor would collapse on to the food court on the lower level. She left Glynda and Tai outside to their argument and began silently perusing the isles of the store. Now, any good huntsman knew that mass-produced weapons were _far_ inferior to a good home-made and hand-forged one. Ruby didn't have the time to start from scratch. The store was small, barely bigger than a small kitchen, but _man_ was it packed. The cashier who sat behind the counter was a large man, his bushy beard obscuring his mouth and collar of his jacket, which was coated in grease and metal polish. He was currently yelling at someone on the phone. His accent was thick, brash, and aggressive, but distinctly Atlesian, similar Weiss's accent. Well, similar in the same way that getting hit by a dump truck was similar to a gentle caress of the cheek. It was the same _language,_ at least, and from her very basic knowledge, she could make out him saying something to the effect of ' _bring parts by Wednesday or face pain and suffering'._ Pleasant guy.

Distracted by a case filled with shiny steel blades, she didn't notice that the man had stopped yelling at the phone and had turned his brusque voice towards her. Her eyes flickered over.

"You, girl. Are you Summer Rose?"

Ruby paused, then nodded.

" _Gut_. Oscar called ahead to tell me you were coming. _Ich_ did not expect you so soon, but no matter. You need weapon, you come to right store."

Ruby nodded, again, going back to perusing the few isles. What did she need in a weapon?

"What you need in weapon, girl? Something light and delicate, I think?"

Ruby jumped out of her skin at his sudden presence at her side. How did such a huge man move so quietly? His enormous seven-foot tall frame dwarfed her. He had looked much shorter behind his counter. Ruby tried to not sound scared.

"Uh, perhaps not delicate. I'm more of an offensive fighter I guess?"

The brute of a man nodded, turning away in contemplation. He walked cautiously over to a cabinet that was in a corner of the store, devoid of light. He pulled it open and looked inside, his eyes lighting up. Ruby couldn't see in from her vantage point, but by the man's reaction, the case contained something formidable.

"What was old weapon?"

Ruby winced. She didn't want to reveal that she in fact didn't belong in this timeline. But if the headmaster had called ahead, perhaps this shop owner was on board with the programme.

"A scythe."

The man chuckled to himself.

"Cumbersome. Never win battle. You need something more mobile, you seem like fit girl. Come to desk."

Ruby curtseyed slightly, a little proud of her own ability to maintain her figure enough to be noticed, even in the dim light of the weapon shop. She strolled over to the desk at the side of the store, where the man stood with a sketchbook in one hand, his fingers wrapped around a pen.

"Describe dream weapon."

Ruby gave herself a few moments to picture it in her head. She wanted it to be close enough to her darling _Crescent Rose,_ to keep the aesthetic she was going for, but be distinct and new. Summer Rose didn't use a scythe. What about a pair of sickles? Nah, even that was too close. She needed something that would allow her to maintain most of her fighting style, without delving too far away and requiring a bunch of new training. Initiation was _tomorrow,_ after all. She needed something like...

"...Start with an axe."

"Axe?"

"Yeah, like a splitting maul. Maybe like a three-foot handle, I don't need a two-handed weapon."

The man nodded, his pen scratching against the page as Ruby imagined he was sketching out a potential weapon for her. She felt a little dirty getting someone else to fabricate something for her, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Now, obviously an axe wasn't what she wanted, but it would be close enough to the fighting style required for scythe-wielding that the crossover between skill sets should be easy. Ruby actually had done strength and balance training using a woodsman's axe _way_ back before even attending Signal academy in order to prepare. She still remembered most of her training. Axes were close enough to scythes in design, as well.

"One handed, check. Big blade?"

Ruby shrugged.

"Make the head like a flat, woodsman's axe head, no bigger than, say, a dinner plate. And give the handle a bit of a wiggle in it. You know what I mean."

"I do. I make handle ambidextrous, good for balance."

Ruby nodded again, lost in thought. She needed some way to make this weapon different than just a sharp choppy thing. She thought about Weiss again. A sad smile came to her face, remembering that it would be at least a year in her time until she saw her again. She decided to honour the girl.

"Put a revolving cylinder on the handle, say midway down, chambered for dust cartridges..." her voice broke a little. "...and integrate the barrel along the trailing edge of the handle. I use dust, you see. Maybe seven shots?"

The man stopped scribbling for a second and looked up at her over the counter, a disapproving look on his face.

"You are dust mage, girl?"

Ruby laughed it off.

"No sir, I'm a chemist and a physicist! I learned to use dust by studying its properties and practising in a laboratory. It's all just science in the end, you know. My girlfr... sorry, my _friend_ is a dust mage, and she taught me a few tricks a while back. Dust is no issue for me."

The man-mountain nodded slightly, turning back to his scribbling. He gestured for her to continue. She happily obliged. Talking about weapons was her favourite thing, after all.

"Make sure it can be easily modified in the future. I like me a good modular weapon."

The man nodded, and pulled a set of coloured pencils out of his desk. Ruby took the hint.

"Paint it _white._ But give it red and black trim. Make it classy."

The man finished scribbling, turning the sketchbook towards her. She gasped. The drawing he had done of the weapon she described was _beautiful._ Everything she had asked for was there, including a few things she had forgotten but needed, including a leather grip on the handle.

"It's _perfect!"_

" _Wunderbar._ It should be operationally done in eight hours. Don't worry about the price, Oscar said to put it on school account. Good for me anyway, more money I can get from him, the better."

Ruby smiled at him. She liked this strange, enormous Atlesian man who was now going to help her make a weapon. Just in time for school too. Hopefully Glynda wouldn't mind driving her back to the mall after dinner.

"Thank you so much, sir. You're a saint."

He smiled back down at her.

"No, I am no saint. I am merely Rudolf, the weaponsmith. _Auf Wiefersehen,_ little one."

" _Bis sp_ _äter,_ Rudolf."

And with that, Ruby left. She felt so... _satisfied._ She found her two blond compatriots around the corner from the weapon shop, hanging out on a bench. Tai had somehow found himself a bag of popcorn, and Glynda had pressed her face back into her book. Ruby bounced her way over to them, the biggest smile she could muster plastered across her face. Tai looked over at her and smiled.

"Someone seems happy."

Ruby jumped in place."

"You have no idea, Tai. I just put an order in for a new weapon, and I'm super excited for it to be done."

Her stomach suddenly interrupted her happy moment. It growled like a _pack_ of beowolves. Glynda dropped her book and started laughing.

"You hungry, Summer? There's a few places downstairs that might feed that many wild animals in your stomach."

Ruby pouted, but agreed that food would be excellent at this point.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Anything gourmet around here? I'd be down for a turkey sandwich about now. Oh! And I'll need to do actual food shopping afterwads."

The two blonds stood up and laughed.

"Yeah, no problem. There's a _From Soup 'till Soup_ around the corner from the mall, we can go there after, Summer. Let's go downstairs, I think I saw a place for sandwiches in the food court."

Tai stuck his head in between Ruby and Glynda.

"Man, you girls are gettin' kinda chummy. Should I grab the bus home and leave you two alone for your date?"

Ruby's eyes went wide. _Tai, what the fuck?! I can't go on a date with her! Do you have any idea the social implications or the effects on the timeline? I mean, sure she's hot and this is my ONE shot, but..._

"Hey, if you're offering, bud."

Ruby's internal tirade was cut short by a blushing Glynda. Tai simply smiled and bid them farewell before turning and walking off, still eating his popcorn. Glynda turned back over to Ruby.

"So. Shall we go on our _date,_ Summer?"

 _No!_

"That sounds lovely, Glyn. Lead the way!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Ruby had condemned herself to the shower. It was five in the morning, the day of initiation, and everything was wrong. There she was, sitting on the harsh, cold tile floor, crying. Nothing had gone her way in the last day and a half. Her time machine had malfunctioned, she was stuck in the past pretending to be her mother, had accidentally agreed to a date with Glynda, and had most likely completely fucked up the entire timeline. Needless to say, she had reasons to cry. The only solace she had was about six hours of sleep and a brand new weapon, which by the way worked fantastic.

Initiation was in three hours. She needed to prepare. Literally the fate of the universe rested on her shoulders. She was not made for this kind of stress. She was only seventeen, for crying out loud! Which, by the way, was exactly what she was doing at the moment. Her sobs must have been audible from the next country over. Ruby let the hot water wash over her trembling nude frame, but it really wasn't helping any. It was just making her skin damp. She mashed her fist into the wall like Yang might have.

 _OW._

The pain seared through her wrist like fire though a gas-charged tube. The force of the impact had been enough to crack one of the thick wall tiles, and judging by the way her wrist was now mildly swollen and pulsing, perhaps her radius bone as well. _Holy hell_ did it hurt. She forgot briefly about the reasons she was crying earlier and sat down against the wall, biting her lip so as to not scream. She felt like an idiot. Who willingly damages their dominant hand the day of a crucial physical exam? She clutched her left wrist and sniffed loudly. She could feel the sharp pain slowly fading as her aura began to heal whatever was wrong inside her bones. Now, she knew that in about twenty minutes, any hairline fracture that may or may not have been there would have healed itself, but the pain would remain for the next ten hours or so and her wrist would be stiff and sore. She let out a sarcastic laugh.

"Perfect. Now I have to fight right-handed. Fantastic." she said to no one in particular. She got up off the floor, content with ending her pity party here. There were still tears on her face, but she had since stopped crying. She put her face under the shower head once more to numb the stinging in her eyes, before shutting off the flow and stepping out of the stall. She sat down on the small bench in the changing room. The wood panels were cold against her bare behind, making her shiver. She reached over to her pile of neatly folded clothes she had left herself, grabbing first her undergarments. Her wrist still stung as she towelled her legs off with her wrong hand, holding the delicate silk garment in her left. She pulled them on, ignoring all thoughts in her head that threatened to make her cry again. She was done that for now, she demanded of herself.

She stood up, grabbing her rather unflattering _grey,_ faded bra from the top of the pile, walking over to the huge mirror on the other side of the room. She looked down into her cleavage while she fiddled with the old and slightly warped front clasp. She frowned. Polyethylene-sulfide would have been a better plastic for the clasp, she figured. Or just air-dry her bras from now on. Polypropylene melted too quickly. Once she was satisfied that the clasp was latched enough to not be a problem all day, she eyed herself in the mirror. She was unimpressed.

There stood a girl, short enough to not see anything below the hips thanks to the sink's reflection, with a very juvenile figure in her opinion. She had no breasts, no wide hips, no prominent collarbones, and no round bum. She thought herself a failure. Now, these were all areas someone, like Weiss for instance, would have disagreed with. She was just being dramatic because she was upset. Her figure was womanly for sure, as much as a seventeen-year-old's could be, with a modest thirty-two-B-and-change chest _,_ having filled out a little in the last two months, which her girlfriend _really_ appreciated. Her hips were wide enough to give a figure that might have gotten her into clubs if she had ever bothered leaving her laboratory once in a while, and puberty had done wonders for her skin. In the last few months, the usually short bobbed haircut she kept had been grown out long, ending past her shoulders, and it had a bit of a wave to it. The usual red tips were faded now, in desperate need of reinvigorating. She smiled slightly, remembering how Weiss would always play with her hair and run her fingers though it. She always said she liked long-haired Ruby. Maybe so did Ruby.

She looked over at the digital clock on the wall. It read six in the morning. She's have to leave now if she wanted to have breakfast before initiation. She walked back over to her pile of clothes and grabbed her new combat dress and tossed it over her shoulders, fighting with the well-fitting fabric as she pulled it all the way on. Next up was a set of Lycra athletics shorts up under the dress, thigh-length socks and her all-belts-and-buckles boots. These alone took ten minutes to do up. Ruby tried to hurry. Just as the clock struck six-thirty, she tossed her cloak loosely on and headed out the door, back into the real world.

Breakfast was much better today. She took her eggs over easy with a side of bacon and hash browns. It was fantastic, well cooked, and expertly seasoned. Had the entire cooking staff been replaced since yesterday? Nah, it couldn't be. Perhaps the oatmeal had just been sub-par. She finished up quickly, not wanting to hang around and run into anyone she knew, especially not Glynda.

 _Why not, though?_ She wondered to herself almost out loud before closing her mouth. She had no real reason to avoid the buxom blond, except that she was convinced Glynda _liked_ her. Once again she trapped herself in paradoxical thoughts on whether it would be okay to date her as she returned her breakfast tray to the side of the room. She was currently in a relationship with a girl she had last seen not even two days ago, except that 'two days ago' was actually almost nineteen years away in the future. And the aforementioned girl wouldn't be born until February! Ruby shook her head. It was starting to hurt. No, it most certainly couldn't be okay! She needed to get out of the dining hall, and quickly. To clear her head in the brisk morning air, yes, that would do. She stepped away from the table, turning herself towards the door and stepping forward.

...directly into a tall woman with very long, feathery black hair. She fell backwards, onto the floor and her butt. She didn't bother looking up, for she knew exactly who had halted her movement. The offending party started yelling at her.

"You! Again! Why don't you watch where you're going, for once in your pathetic, miserable life, you tiny heathen!"

Ruby sighed into her knees. This wasn't the first time she had run into a very aggressive, very angry, and _very_ attractive woman on the first day of school. This specific woman had become her partner, been angry with her for a few months, warmed up to her, they'd became friends, then started dating on the girl's birthday when she had offered to take her out for Valentine's day. This time, however, Ruby _really_ didn't want to be around this woman. Raven was _too_ aggressive. The tall woman glared down at her. Any other circumstance than this, Ruby would have been afraid. But not this time. The dramatic irony of the situation was too much for her. The woman's male companion glided forward and stood between the two of them, placing a hand on Raven's shoulder to stop her from advancing any further.

"Raven, don't. She's just a girl." he turned to Ruby. His voice was gruff and deep, exactly as she expected to be. "Sorry about my sister. She's a little brusque. And a bitch, too."

Ruby smiled, which only served to make Raven _angrier._ Qrow extended his other hand down to her, and Ruby allowed herself to be lifted off the ground. Qrow reached down next to where she had fallen and collected her new weapon, turning it over in his hands, still having positioned himself between herself and the unruly warrior. He seemed impressed with the newly acquired axe.

"This yours?"

Dumb question, Ruby thought. But she nodded none the less.

"Huh. It's pretty nice. Looks designer."

"It is!" she replied, a smile coming to her face. Her smile faded as he gave her a pained look. Right, Qrow didn't like weapons that weren't hand made, more specifically his personal weapon.

"Hmm. Anyway, in the future I would advise against running into Raven. She's been going on all night about slicing you in half."

Ruby took her weapon back from Qrow and slung the long leather strap over her shoulder, and hiding it back under her cloak. She smirked past him at his sister.

"Yeah? I'd like to see her try."

Raven's eyes started to glow red. Ruby let her smugness show, as she knew she could likely beat Raven tenfold in a spar. She had two more years experience training _at this actual school_ than the black-haired warrior. Qrow seemed amused by this statement, much to his sister's continued anger.

"I think that'd been cool to watch, actually. By the way, the name's Qrow. Is your name as pretty as your face?"

 _Oh yeah, he's a shameless flirt._ Ruby blushed anyways.

"It's Summer Rose, Qrow. I'd be happy to dominate your sister any day of the week."

Raven let out a string of extremely offensive expletives, some of which she recognized, some of which were definitely made up on the spot. Qrow laughed, grabbing his sister around the waist and carrying her off before she murdered anyone, kicking and screaming. Before he left, he turned back towards her and winked, mouthing ' _see you later'_ in her direction. Ruby blushed again, and then was alone once more. She felt a little better after her little mental breakdown from earlier. She made her way outside.

Sitting under one of the small trees in the courtyard, was a blond boy she didn't really expect to see up at this hour. Now, it wasn't super early, but seven in the morning was still early for most students, as the campus seemed mostly empty. She smiled, and strolled over to the blond boy. The closer she got, the more she started to notice that the boy was upset. She sat down on the grass beside him, which made him look over at her. His lilac eyes brightened as he noticed who it was.

"Hey, Summer..."

"Hey there, Tai. What's with the long face? Your voice sounds a little _horse_?"

He let out a tiny laugh, smiling into his knees, which were drawn up to his chin.

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking about my mother. She raised me and my brother by herself after my father left. She called me this morning and told me that she missed me and about how empty the house was."

"Your father left?"

Tai's smile disappeared again.

"Yeah. Right about when I was like four. He left out of spite apparently, said he didn't love us anymore. So my mom taught me to fight."

"Gran... your mother taught you to fight. Huh."

Tai sniffed.

"Sometimes I punch things until the pain goes away."

Ruby's heart broke. He reminded her so much of her sister. But then, he would. Yang was supposed to be this boy's daughter. She decided not to say anymore to Tai, lest she upset him anymore. She scooted over to him in the grass and lay her cheek on his shoulder. He shivered under her touch, but quickly relaxed. She hadn't intended to cry again today, but the small amount of moisture forming in her eyes from Tai's explanation reminded her that she was still in pain herself. Perhaps she needed to make them laugh.

"Hey, you know I ran into Raven again today."

Tai chuckled a little, his shoulder bouncing under Ruby's cheek.

"Damn, you have all the luck. I haven't even had the chance to speak to her once. Hey, actually, I heard that initiation involves finding a partner in a forest or something, perhaps I'll get to see her then."

Ruby smiled. He absolutely would.

"Hey, by the way, we should make our way to the cliff soon, initiation starts in an hour. I'll walk with you if you like.

She could feel Tai smile through her cheek. They stood up from where they had been sitting on the grass. Most of the tears that were on Tai's face had dried in the last few minutes. Ruby extended her hand to him. He took it, lacing his finger into hers. It was sweet, the way he felt comfortable around her in an almost automatic way. They made their way towards the cliff, hand in hand.

"Thanks summer. You're a real friend."

She smiled down at her shoes.

"Nah, I'm just trying to be nice. Speaking of nice, I can promise you that you'll get a chance to talk to Raven once we land in the forest."

Tai winced a little.

"I dunno, Summer, I don't think I want to have to face her bodyguard. Dude looks kinda menacing."

"What, Qrow? Nah, he's a real charmer. I like him. I'm sure you will as well!"

They arrived at the cliff. A few students were already there, Including Glynda, Bart, Raven and Qrow. The headmaster stood off to one side, a short young man with a silver mustache in a deep burgundy suit stood next to him. They seemed deep in conversation. Tai squeezed her hand a little, and she instinctively let go of his had and turned towards him, trying to not look so enamoured with him, seeing as Glynda was standing only thirty feet away. Tai looked worried.

"So how does this whole initiation thing work? I thought we'd be entering the forest and meeting our teams in there."

Ruby perked her eyebrows up at him.

"Well, you're not wrong..."

At exactly the strike of eight after about fifty more students had congregated on the cliff, the headmaster addressed them in his usual soft, yet commanding voice, the one Ruby had become accustomed to and actually liked. Ozpin's voice was like a rich, creamy coffee for her ears, the kind the Weiss liked to bring her when she spent late nights in the library or lab working. Today, he addressed them not as Ozpin, but as Headmaster Pine. They made their way to the individual steel pads embedded in the ground. Ruby stood herself between Tai and Glynda, who seemed bashful.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors..."

The beginning of Ozpin's speech tore her attention from the blushing blond woman. _Fuck, I did it again. I have to stop myself before I get out of hand._

" _..._ And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest. Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumours about the assignment of teams. Allow me to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates..."

Ruby looked over towards Tai, who looked back, giving a thumbs up. She smiled. She knew that she would be on a team with him, of course, and perhaps she might even be his partner. That would be nice, she thought. Tai seemed like the kind of guy who needed someone cheerful in his life, and Ruby thought that Summer should be that person.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well with."

She looked over at Glynda, who immediately looked away. Clearly she had been staring. Ruby blushed. _Damn it, not again!_ She still couldn't decide if she could bring herself to act on her feelings towards the buxom blond.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years. After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way."

Opposition? Hardly. Ruby pulled her weapon out from under her cloak and lifted it up to rest it on her shoulder. She popped the revolving chamber out and fed in the seven dust cartridges she had in her belt. No creature of Grimm would be able to stand up to the mighty... wait, what had she named this axe?

"Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path, or you will die."

There was a faint murmuring from the other students. She looked around. Many seemed suddenly apprehensive. Including _Raven_ of all people. The girl's eyes seemed to flick around, faint hints of fear behind them. Ruby stifled a laugh.

"You will be monitored and graded for the duration of your initiation. But our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing..."

Ruby tuned Ozpin out and observed her new classmates. She had already heard his speech once before, and already knew exactly where to go and what to find. Abandoned ruin, gold relic, she could remember the route like it was yesterday. Many of the students were readying their weapons. Bart, gods bless him, had his thermos-slash-bat full of what Ruby assumed was coffee, and was consuming it with great fervour, Glynda had her riding crop at the ready, but Tai didn't seem to have his weapon on him. Strange. The headmaster ended his speech, and bid them good luck. Ruby got down into launch position, mentally prepping her landing strategy. There was a loud bang, and Ruby shut her eyes, expecting to be hurled into the air.

Except she wasn't. She opened her eyes, to find that every _other_ student was currently flying through the air, over the cliff. Only she and Ozpin remained. He took a sip from his mug before addressing her.

"I wished to speak with you, Miss Rose, before initiation. I realize that I just launched all of your newfound friends of a cliff, but this is important."

Ruby stood up straight, dropping her hood off of her hair.

"Pleaze hurry, Oz, I have a team to make."

"That's precisely the reason I have you up here still. Were you ever told which one of her team that your mother was partnered up with?"

Ruby shook her head. Ozpin smiled.

"Then the next part of your day will be entirely within your control. This is one instance where you will be allowed to make your own destiny, _Summer_. But remember, you are the more capable huntress of any of the others. Make sure you use that to your advantage. Some people can be swayed by demonstrations of prowess and leadership. Some, however cannot. No matter who you get paired with, I'm certain that you'll make the best of it. You've had past experience dealing with difficult partners years from now, after all." Ozpin frowned "Okay, even I just confused myself with that. Anyway, are you prepared, Miss Rose?"

Ruby laughed. This was the second time today that she had confused someone with the logistics of the timeline she was in. She nodded, indicating she was ready for initiation. He smiled, and gave her a second to get into launch position again. She crouched slightly, her right hand wrapped around her axe's handle near the top, between the blade and the revolving chamber. It felt a little weird to be holding the weapon in her wrong hand, but said appendage was currently bandaged up from when she had damaged the bathroom wall earlier in the morning. Ozpin nodded at her and hit the button on his launch panel. The springboard under her feet exploded.

For the second time in just over two years, Ruby was sailing though the air over the Emerald Forest, preparing to meet her team. The forest whizzed by below her. Most of the other students had already landed, she figured, and now the ground was quickly approaching. She realized that only very few times had she ever needed to use a 'landing strategy' in combat, and hers wasn't exactly perfect. Still in free fall, she pulled the axe off of her back and held it before her. Quickly rotating the chamber to the correct cartridge, she pulled the trigger. A glowing grey flame erupted from the barrel of the weapon, briefly blinding her. As she opened her eyes again, she started to feel her skin tingle, and the sensation of falling lessened. She pulled the trigger again. And again. And a third time, just for good measure. Her momentum had slowed to a light float, as she descended gracefully through the foliage.

The instant her boots touched down on the soft muddy ground, the grey glow that had enveloped her body dissipated, and her body-weight returned to her, pushing her into the soil slightly. She took a glance over her shoulder, back towards the cliff. _Huh. It's a lot higher than I remember. Man, gravity dust does wonders. I should have been using this since last year._ She stepped forward, beginning her trek towards the relics. She frowned, again. Last year to her was still nearly eighteen years from the current moment. She kicked her way through a small shrubbery, into a clearing. Her potential team came to her mind. Ruby knew that her mother's team included, Summer, Tai, Raven and Qrow, and that her mother was supposed to be its leader. Around the next outcropping of trees, lay a beowolf, completely oblivious to her arrival. Even Ruby was taken aback by this.

"Ahoy! Beastie!" she shouted at it. The animal turned to her, looking almost distracted. The moment she met it's eyes, the beast fully turned and _bellowed_ at her. She smirked, drawing the axe out once more in her right hand. The mindless monster charged forward, and Ruby hoisted the mighty axe above her head, and just as the beast was about to mutilate her, she brought the axe down, bisecting the creature's skull. It stopped dead in its tracks, quite literally as its roar was cut suddenly short. Ruby looked down at her new weapon in awe, completely surprised by the sudden end to the huge animal. She quickly withdrew the axe from the monster's slowly dissolving head and examined the blade. _Good gracious it's sharp. And I had this thing strapped to my back?_ She was impressed.

She kept walking. Thoughts about her team returned. Who would she want to be paired with? Taiyang was the obvious choice for sure, as she knew about his fighting style already, as the boy had already raised and trained her, even if he didn't know he would, yet. She could match his style with ease!

Her thoughts were interrupted by a roar from her left. She drew her axe again, spinning around to meet the face of a huge Ursa that had snuck up on her. For such large animals, they could sure be sneaky if they chose. She wasn't afraid. Ursas had very obvious weak points after all, that spot just between the shoulder blades where the armour was thin and their spinal chord was least protected. She pointed the barrel of her weapon at the ground and fired, while pulling the trigger and activating another round of gravity dust. Straight up into the air she went, over the head of the growling black bear some thirty feet or so.

"I mean, there's also Qrow, I wouldn't mind being partnered with him." She said aloud, spinning herself horizontally in the air, bringing the blade of her axe down into the back of the beast, knocking it to the ground. She dug her heels into its flesh and flipped backwards, pulling out her axe and dismounting from the animal.

"He's kinda cute, I guess. And he uses a scythe! I know how he fights! He'd be the perfect partner!" She jumped forward, impacting the side of the Ursa's face with her blade, firing a round of fire dust into it's shoulder. The crippled beast was flung backward, slowing beginning to disolve as two more Ursas bounded into the clearing from beyond the trees. Ruby let the first one advance, putting herself into a wide stance. The huge bear raised a claw-covered paw above its head and made to swing downward. Ruby brought her axe up to her face, shielding the blow with the handle. The weapon was deflected to her left side, and she used the momentum created to spin around and fire another fire dust round into the second creature. She ducked under another swipe made by the closer beast, rolling away and flipping back onto her feet.

"Although, Tai is _supposed_ to be Summer's husband at some point. I think I need to be his partner now, it will make the transition easier."

She deflected another swipe from the closer creature. The beast's claws scraped loudly against the polished weapon, making Ruby cringe. She sprung herself backwards, away from the two Ursas, landing only about twenty feet away. She looked down at the weapon, which now sported a diagonal scratch across the long handle. Ruby frowned, wilfully ignoring the fast approaching pair of animals. _It's a damn shame. This weapon is brand new, and I already scratched it! Rudolf will be so mad at me._

Just at the two animals bore down on the spot she had been standing, Ruby flipped the barrel downward and fired, propelling herself up into the air again with a fire dust cartridge. This wasn't what they were for, of course, but she admitted that they worked excellently as high-jump aids for her much lighter body. Even Weiss had admitted that it was a good idea. Ruby looked down at the two Ursas, which had collided with each other in their haste to devour her. Not that she was going to let them, of course. She pointed the barrel of the weapon upwards to the sky and fired, launching herself back down towards the ground and two bears. Their roars were abruptly halted as her axe made its way brutally though the necks of the two unfortunate monsters. Ruby hit the ground with a thud.

"He's more of a hand-to-hand kind of guy I always figured. Maybe a brawler and a- _oof_ \- dust user _can_ be partners! Although..."

Her monologue was cut short by the loud trumpeting of a Goliath, which burst into the clearing, knocking over one of the substantially large trees. Ruby once again smirked at the beast as it snorted loudly at her. She pulled her white hood up, prepped the next dust cartridge, and dashed towards it. The huge elephant roared and also charged forward. Ruby fired backwards, propelling herself towards the commanding animal with even more speed. Just before they would have impacted, Ruby dropped herself to her knees and began sliding on the grass.

"...although I doubt that Tai would be able to match Qrow on pure- whoa, Nelly-" she ducked under the animal's trunk, sliding under it's belly. The moment the soft, fleshy underside was in view. Ruby slammed the head of her axe into it and fired again, ripping a huge gash along its stomach. Black blood burst from the wound and the monster screamed in actual pain. Ruby stood up behind the Goliath and watched as it continued running forward, blinded by pain. It hit a tree and came to a halt, before flopping to its side, still bleeding. Ruby, taking pity on the dying creature, walked calmly toward it, rotating the chamber on her weapon to the next cartridge. The beast's chest heaved painfully. She raised the barrel to he animal's head, and fired one last fire dust shot into it's skull, ending it. She slung the axe back over her shoulder, and prepared to keep walking to the relic site.

"Now, as I was saying before I was _rudely_ interrupted, Qrow is by far and away the more skilled huntsman when it comes to technical prowess. I haven't seen him use his scythe in a long while, however, perhaps he doesn't use one yet. Oh well, at least I won't get partnered with..."

She was alerted to someone's voice ahead of her. Whoever it was sounded gruff and agressive, almost masculine. Ruby _immediately_ imagined it was either Qrow or Tai, and dashed forward. _Yes! My partner awaits my arrival! And they're already killing Grimm! Perhaps we can have a bonding moment!_

She crashed though the undergrowth, prepared to greet her new partner with a big hug. He wouldn't mind of course. Probably. The moment she made her was into the clearing she saw them. Surrounded by a pile of decaying beowolves, there stood the unmistakable figure of exactly the person she _didn't_ want to partner with. _Her_ long flowing black hair whipped around, and her red eyes locked down on Ruby, making her stop dead. _Oh for fuck's sake._

Raven Branwen looked _maliciously_ angry. At Ruby. She marched forward, her katana still drawn.

"You?!"

Ruby crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes.

"Yes, me."

There was a silence that hung in the air. She wanted to be done with this as soon as possible now. Initiation had just lost all of its fun value, now she had been paired with her least favourite human being on the planet. Raven growled at her and sheathed her sword, before turning and walking away. Her head turned back, still angry.

"By no means does this make us friends. Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ruby was not happy. For obvious reasons. Raven didn't event acknowledge her presence as they walked through the forest to the relic site. She was _fuming_ mad, it seemed. Ruby wanted to try and break the ice with her. As much as she detested the black-haired woman, she knew she needed to coexist with her for the next little while.

"So what do you think of Tai?"

Raven seemed to grunt in response, making Ruby wince.

"Who?"

"You know, tall, blond and beautiful? Was hanging out with me this morning before launch?"

"Do you mean _your_ boyfriend?"

 _What?_

"He's not my boyfriend! He's just _a_ friend!"

Raven turned her head but kept walking.

"You seemed to be attached at the wrist this morning. Why would I be interested in him when he's taken."

This was going a direction Ruby hadn't anticipated. She hadn't even mentioned the concept of 'being interested' yet. She just wanted to know the girl's opinion! Ruby sighed heavily as they approached another clearing in the woods. Raven stopped in her tracks, halting Ruby's movement with a hand on her chest. She looked down. _That's directly on my boob._ The taller woman readied her weapon.

"There are Grimm nearby. Don't get in my way."

Ruby shrugged. She pulled her axe off of her back and stuck it into the trunk of a tree horizontally, creating a perch for herself to sit on. She hopped up on it, perching herself like a bird on a wire. She watched the other woman prep her sword, the red blade shimmering in the dim light that broke though the forest canopy. There was a low growl from behind the bushes, making the tall warrior adopt a wide stance, seeming worried. Ruby simply pulled off the fingerless gloves Tai had given her earlier to cover up the bandages on her hand. She examined her fingernails as a small army of beowolves bounded into the fray, not even fazing her.

"Summer! Are you going to help?"

Ruby briefly thought about it. Why should she? Raven seemed fine, jumping about like an acrobatic kangaroo with her sword. Her black hair whipped around as she cleaved one of the animals in two. Raven's eyes were on fire as she whipped her sword _through_ two of the huge creatures, actually blocking a swipe from another using only her forearm.

"So, do you think that Tai's attractive?"

Raven punched one of the beowolves in the nose, knocking it back ten feet or so.

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about? Why aren't you _helping?!"_

Ruby swung her legs back and forth beneath her, giving the woman a smug look.

"Answer the question, Miss Branwen. I'd like to know your opinion of him."

Raven flipped sideways, bringing the hilt of her sword down into the skull of another beowolf. She actually _roared_ at the slowly depleting pack of animals, whipping around again and beheading another. It was actually kinda cool, Ruby thought. One of the beowolves swung low, knocking Raven onto her back. She didn't even have time to react, as another one bore down on her. Ruby rolled her eyes and stepped off her perch, picking up a rock from the ground, and whipping it at the animal that was on top of her partner. It looked up at her, and in the moment it was distracted, Raven swung her sword again and removed the creature's head. Ruby pulled her axe out of the tree trunk and strolled calmly over to the remaining Grimm. It was injured she could see, barely able to stand anymore. She gently placed a hand on the beasts snout. Raven screamed from behind her.

" _Why aren't you killing it? What is wrong with you?!"_

Ruby shushed the beast, which growled softly under her her fingers. She almost pitied the huge creature. It exhaled a deep breath, almost whining.

"Are you going to answer my question?"

"Summer, the longer you wait, the more that animal heals, and then it will kill you!"

The monster began to growl deeper. It was getting stronger again. It put its paw on the ground and tried to stand. Ruby pressed down on the animal's nose, and it did not yet have the strength to stand all the way up. Ruby didn't want to admit that she was actually afraid of the huge beast and the possibility that it would kill her in a few minutes. She played the fear to her advantage, holding the animal down.

"I'm waiting."

"Summer!"

The beast roared under her hand, making her shiver. She kept her composure, cocking her eyebrows.

"It's gonna heal in a moment..."

Raven stepped forward, fear in her eyes. She knew that the longer that a Grimm was alive, the stronger the possibility that more would arrive became.

"Summer, we will _not_ be having a conversation about cute boys while that _thing_ is still alive."

Ruby smirked. The beast roared again, pushing out of her grasp and finally standing up to full height. Raven pulled out her sword again, but Ruby didn't give her the opportunity to use it, swinging her axe upwards into the animal's crotch, and ripping it in two from the bottom up. She turned back to Raven. Who was _still_ angry. Ozpin was right. Not everyone was impressed by displays of prowess. Raven walked up to her with a purpose. Before she could speak, the tall woman drove her finger into her sternum, directly on the sharp plastic of her bra clasp.

"You!"

 _Jab_

"Insolent!"

 _Jab_

"Childish!"

 _Jab_

"Unhelpful!"

 _Jab_

"Cretin!"

And with the last jab, Ruby felt the tiny plastic clasp break and dig into her skin. Her breasts heaved, finally free of their cotton-padded hammocks. Ruby's eye twitched. This was her _favourite_ bra! And Raven had just broken it! She needed her revenge. Raven turned away again, taking a few steps away. Ruby sprung her trap.

"So you admit that you think he's cute?"

Raven spun around with enough force to spin the planet the opposite direction. Her eyes were on fire again. Ruby smirked again.

"Now listen, you little-"

Raven tried to slam her finger into Ruby's sternum again. A mere millimetre from when it was to connect with her body, Ruby's hand reached up with almost imperceptible speed, grabbing Raven's wrist and twisted _. Hard._ Raven shrieked as her arm was torqued almost beyond a level she could have imagined coming from the small girl. Ruby forced the girl to her knees in the dirt, twisting her arm up behind her back. The taller woman seemed to be trying not to cry. Ruby suddenly felt bad for her.

"Are you going to play nice?"

Raven's red eyes burned.

"Yes."

Ruby released her hand. The woman fell to the ground, clutching her wrist. She quickly got to her feet as Ruby turned away from her. She could hear a sword being drawn. _Nice fucking try._ Ruby drew her axe and flung it backwards, knocking the sword and sheath out of the woman's grasp and onto the ground.

"Don't even try me, Raven. You'll regret it. Now let's go."

They continued walking towards the relics, with Raven trailing slightly behind. Ruby felt slightly bad for emasculating her like that. And yes, emasculating was the right word for this situation. Raven deserved no sympathy for her sour attitude and her attempt to draw a weapon on her. They walked in silence for another hour or so. Raven seemed to have cooled off in this time. Ruby tried her luck again. She hated Raven, sure, but she didn't want to have her _loathe_ her like this.

"So what do you think of Tai?"

Raven sniffed behind her. Ruby suddenly felt like an asshole. Raven wasn't a villain, she was just a kid!

"I guess he's kinda cute. I don't want to intrude on you and him."

Ruby sighed heavily.

"I'm not sure how you didn't hear me the first time. He's single! Besides, I have my sights on someone else."

Suddenly, Raven seemed interested in talking.

"Why do you care so much? Like, are you trying to set me up with him? I barely know either of you! And who else might you have eyes for than him? Not his abysmal green-haired friend, I'd hope. And certainly not _Qrow."_

Ruby laughed out loud, actually having to stop walking and hunch over.

"Are you fucking- _heavens no,_ not your brother. I can't look at Uncle Qrow that way!"

 _Wait, shit!_

"I mean _Bart or Qrow_ that way. Sorry, mild Freudian slip. And I'm not sure you'd approve of this person."

Raven put her hand on her shoulder, stopping her from falling over from laughter. Her grasp seemed soft. Caring, actually. Ruby immediately smelled a rat.

"I'll listen, Summer. Think of it as my way of apologizing for being mean earlier."

Ruby stood up straight. She was suspicious. Why would a woman who just a moment ago tried to _draw her sword on her_ want to apologize. Ruby tightened her grip on the handle of her axe under the cloak.

"Well, it's a blond, but not Tai. She's not someone you've met yet, I assume."

Raven's face did something Ruby was never expecting to see ever. It was almost more terrifying than the woman's angry face. Raven _smiled_ at her. Ruby shivered.

"A blond, you say? Well, I can't fault your taste. Wait, did you say _she?"_

And there it was. Raven's grip bit down into her shoulder, before suddenly being snatched away, an almost disgusted look on her face. Ruby had almost let herself been swayed into a false sense of security. Of _course_ this would be a sensitive subject for her. Ruby glared at the taller girl and stepped away, knocking her debilitating partner sideways.

"I did. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a relic to find, and a team to make."

"Summer, wait!"

"Nope!"

She wasn't going to glorify her anymore. She had _finally_ decided that she would consider the pursuit of her tall blond buxom friend, and the _first_ fucking person she ran into, quite literally, was a god-damn homophobe. Ruby charged forward, kicking her way through the undergrowth. A huge coalition of vines stood before her, but it proved no match for one angry swipe of the axe. Angry? The name for the weapon came to her in that moment. _The Choleric Summer._ She liked it. It made her happy. The clearing they stepped into was huge. Ruby could see the ruins way on the other end, some few hundred feet away. The noise of Raven tumbling through the foliage stopped abruptly. Something didn't seem right.

"Summer, let me explain-"

"Shhh."

"Don't you shu-"

" _Shhh!"_

"I'm trying to-"

Ruby turned and glared, silencing the black-haired woman. Something _seriously_ wasn't right. The ground rumbled very slightly under her feet. A Grimm? If so, it was going to be huge. Ruby tossed off her hood and brandished the axe, spinning the dust chamber to a readied cartridge. Her legs widened. The sound of a sword being drawn behind her made her skin crawl. She crouched down, placing her fingers to the ground, feeling the vibrations.

"Raven, I think it's time to apologize, I don't think we'll get a second chance."

"Apologize for what?"

A loud growling started from far off, getting dangerously closer.

"I'm sorry for running over you twice, and I'm sorry for messing up your wrist, and for flirting a little with your brother. Your turn, and hurry."

The trees on the other side of the clearing began to tumble down. Two people ran from the tree line, one dressed in a bright orange tunic and shorts, and one in gold and white knight's armour, both of them running at full tilt.

"Okay, I'm sorry for being mean to you. Now will you tell me who you're interested in?"

Ruby looked back at the tree line. The huge Grimm she was waiting for burst forth. Ruby tried not to scream. The huge black animal was _horrifying,_ each of its eight spindly legs smashing into the ground, the large black abdomen crashing the trees around it down. It must have been more than thirty feet tall, its armoured legs covered in the white plates of chitin, as was its face, where two huge and horrible fangs hung down, glistening in the sunlight. Raven actually _did_ scream.

"What the _fuck_ is that?!"

Ruby remembered her training. She remembered Professor Port's class. Normally she couldn't fathom a single fact about any Grimm when put on the spot for a test or assignment. But here, in the wild, facing death in the face, it all came rushing back. _Araneolus Periculum,_ and a big one at that. Ruby took brief estimates of measurements. Thirty feet tall, forty feet wide, likely twelve tonnes total mass. Each of its eight legs were spindly, coated in armour, as were the spiked plates that ran down the beast's abdomen. _Weak points._ The Aranelous had a few obvious ones, including the soft flesh on the inside the animal's joints, and just under its cephalothorax. Ruby started running toward the screaming monster, trying to keep all of the _factual_ thoughts about the creature in the forefront of her mind, formulating a plan. But she was scared.

A god-damn spider Grimm is what it was. The two other students turned mid-run and started making running attacks, the orange-clad one firing arrows from their bow, laughing, and the armour-clad one making wild swipes with their sword. Ruby had to be strong. She pulled the trigger on her axe, and the blade erupted in flame. Arachnophobia be damned.

"Our next _fucking_ target!"

Raven hesitated behind her, whimpering a little. Where was the mad aggression from before? Where was the woman who tried to kill her twice already? Pathetic. Two more people charged out of the forest behind the creature. Well, one of them was a person. The other seemed to be a green _blur._ Ruby smiled as she identified the new duo as Glynda and Bart, with the former launching a barrage of rocks and debris at the animal with her semblance, and the latter dashing around in circles _on fire,_ bashing the huge spider, making the Grimm only scream louder. She was closing on it very quickly.

"Don't worry, Summer, we got your back!"

She turned her head and saw the two people she had _intended_ to team up with had suddenly began running along beside her. They must have come out of the forest not but thirty seconds ago. Hey at least they had found each other. Tai and Qrow seemed to be excited to fight this huge animal, or if they were scared, they were hiding it well under their dashing good looks.

"Hey, where's Raven?"

Ruby looked back. Raven was missing from her spot she had been when the Grimm had appeared.

"No clue. I think she doesn't like me."

The Grimm was now within attack distance. Ruby stopped her run, laying her eyes on the eight glowing orbs of the massive spider. She needed to think of a plan. Thoughts of Port's eight-am Grimm Studies course hit her like a bus. She remembered one of his long-winded stories.

" _Now, children, let me tell you a story of a time I single-handedly defeated the heinous forest spider, The Great Mighty Marrok! A huge creature with enormous fangs, and let me tell you, a devilish intent to flay me limb from limb! Now, my team at the time was formidable for sure, but Marrok was stronger! I thought it would be my end, but nay! We fought for four days and four nights, wrestling like men in the mud and rocks! It was an admirable fight to the last breath, after I had cut off it's legs and pinned it to the soil with its own fangs! Marrok finally gave in and I proved victorious! I remember it like it was yesterday..."_

That was it. She needed to pin the beast down, stop it from moving. As she dashed passed the animal, she fired a few fire dust rounds at the side of its head, making it scream and divert course to the left. Which one of her new classmates would be strong enough to slow the beast. She scanned the players. Glynda seemed like a good first move. She called out to her, grabbing the blond's attention.

"Glyn! Stop it from advancing on the ruin!"

The blond raised her riding crop, and a dull glow began encircling the body of the beast. It slowed, struggling to move forward. _Not quite enough._

"Bart!"

The boy stopped his light speed travel for a moment.

"Blast it from every side you can as fast as you can! More coffee!"

The boy nodded, taking another swig of his thermos and dashing away, concussive fiery blasts bombarding the beast from every side at once, it seemed. The monstrous spider roared, swinging its huge fangs in Ruby's direction. She jumped backwards, vaulting over her left wrist, axe in her right hand. Her wrist still stung from earlier, but it was getting better now. She needed to get the monster's fangs out of service. She launched a few fire dust rounds into its face.

"Qrow, clip it's wings!

"A fitting analogy" the boy said, nodding, pulling his own huge sword from his back. He dove forward under the covering fire she was providing from her axe. He started swinging wildly at the creature's front legs. With each swipe, more and more black, acrid blood poured from the cuts he was making. Up next was the boy with no weapon. She looked over to him. He seemed to be observing the fight just as she was.

"Tai, can you bring it down to our level?"

Tai smirked.

"May I? Oh that sounds like good fun!"

He pulled a small foot-long staff out from where it hung on his belt. He whipped it downwards, where the staff extended another few feet. A Bo staff? That didn't seem like something he'd _whoa..._

The end of the staff exploded into a bright white light, contained within a small steel cage that unfolded from the end. Ruby could feel the heat that emanated from the warm glow. Was it dust? Was it some kind of contained semblance? The device seemed to be exploding, but not as one single explosion, but as one _continuous one._ The blond boy jumped forward, the momentum of his huge weapon carrying him up and over the face of the huge spider.

"Feel the _power!"_

He let himself fall towards the beast, his weapon in a two-handed grip like you would a sledgehammer.

"Of the _Bane of Wells_!"

The boy slammed the head of the hammer into the monster's head, igniting the fire in the head. The light was suddenly blinding. Everything was a bright white. Everything was hot. It didn't happen in waves. It happened all at once. Ruby tried to shield her eyes, but there was no point, the light was all consuming. As was the _sound!_ The roar was deafening. Ruby felt a brief pain as something collided with her bum. The ground, likely she had fallen over, disoriented. Then, as quickly as it started, the light and heat vanished. Ruby opened her eyes. The beast was still alive, albeit very burned, missing it's front four legs, and with it's face pressed into the ground, held down by where its fangs were dug into the soil. Ruby smiled.

"Well that wasn't exceptionally hard."

Qrow stood next to her, breathing heavy and sweating profusely.

"Yeah, but it's still alive."

Ruby put on a smug expression and strolled up to the animal, axe in hand. She helped Tai down from where he stood on the monster's head, very tired and very out of breath. This boy's aura must have been immense, as he had experienced the explosion of his own weapon mere inches away from his face. Ruby took up his position on the monster's head, driving the blade of her axe into it's skull. She frowned, as even the mighty sharp blade wasn't large enough to pierce deep into the beast's skull and kill it. She swung again. The huge spider shook under her like an earthquake. She swung again, and again. With each strike, more blood came out and splashed against her legs, soaking into her dress and socks. And her cloak. She was suddenly dreading the clean up more than she was the monster. It was no longer scary. It was _annoying._

"Need my help?"

Ruby jumped. The long black feathery hair had appeared out of nowhere, as if she had materialized from thin air. Raven's presence was unnerving. And she was _smiling_ again. Ruby realized now that she _hated_ it. The woman pulled her overly long katana from its sheath, pressing the tip of the blade into the beast's head.

"Gonna help me?"

Ruby pursed her lips, but nodded. She approached, both of them wrapping their hands around the handle. She caught the eye of Raven, her red eyes glinting, hiding both malicious intent _and_ real compassion. They both forced the sword downward. The beast cried out, trying once again to throw them off in one last attempt to stay alive. Ruby and Raven twisted the blade in the monster's head, and it finally gave in, sagging down under its own weight. It was dead. Fucking _finally._

Raven pulled her sword from the decaying animal's body and stepped away. Ruby was glad to no longer have to pretend to want to work with her. She flipped off of the monster's head and walked over to the tree that Tai was leaning up against. She leaned with him for the moment, sighing deeply, displaying her distaste for the day's events. She frowned. Her chest felt weird. _Oh right, my bra is still broken. I completely forgot._ Lucky for her, the tight-fitting black dress had sufficed to hold her girls in place during the fight. She groaned, reaching down her collar and pulling the broken garment up and out of her dress. Tai looked over at her and chuckled.

"Hey pal. Girl problems?"

"Tai, you have no idea. Raven's responsible for this."

"Man, already? You're a fast worker."

Ruby let out a sarcastic laugh, making Tai smile. They slumped against the tree together.

"No, not with her, thanks. I think I'd prefer someone else. Someone tall, blond, and beautiful. Like Glynda!"

"Need some water? Because you sound kinda thirsty, Summer."

Ruby smiled and took the outstretched water bottle and took a swig. It was exactly what she needed at the moment.

"Man, she's hot, huh."

Ruby spit out her mouthful of water.

"What the hell, Tai! Could you wait until I finished drinking?"

"Well I could have, but that wouldn't have been as funny. So what do you think?"

Ruby winced. She _detested_ Raven at the moment. But she needed to be cordial, and appear to be a good leader _before_ a leader would even be assigned.

"Well, I don't disagree with you. I don't know if I'd want to have sexual relations with that woman, mind you."

Tai laughed, not noticing that Qrow had strolled up to his opposite side.

"Oh, I'd _totally_ fuck her. No question."

"Who are you guys talking about?"

Ruby froze. _Oh no._

"Uh, Tai?"

He continued, unaffected.

"That girl over there! Raven, I think her name is. I'd totally fuck her, wouldn't you?"

Qrow blinked twice.

" _Run that by me again, partner?"_

"Oh come on, Qrow, don't be thick. She's totally hot."

" _TAIYANG_!"

He turned to her.

"Yes, Summer?"

Ruby pointed to the woman in the clearing.

"That's his sister."

Everyone froze. Tai rotated his gaze back to Qrow, who had spontaneously combusted from anger.

"Now, listen..."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

" _...Led by Glynda Goodwitch, Team Gambit! Please collect your papers from my colleague at the edge of the stage."_

Ruby's heart hammered in her chest. Her team was _last._ Ozpin had done this on purpose for sure. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, looking over at her new team. They seemed just as anxious as she.

" _And last, but certainly not least following that swift takedown of the Araneolus Periculum, we have Taiyang Xiao Long, Qrow and Raven Branwen, and their fearless leader, Summer Rose! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Team Stark!"_

Ruby smiled, letting some of the stress leave her. Heh. He called her fearless. What did he know. They made their way to the edge of the stage, where they were greeted by a short, young-looking man in a maroon suit. He handed them manila envelopes. Tai opened his, and Ruby watched him extract a student card, a room card, and a few loose documents from the envelope. She looked down at her own, frowning. It didn't feel heavy enough to contain the same stuff as everyone else. Carefully, she opened it. Inside was a single piece of paper.

 _Come to my office. Immediately._

A wave of fear washed over her. Had she done something wrong? She smiled and waved to her team, departing in a mild hurry. Back once again to the grounds of the school, she found herself in a light jog across campus, worried about why the headmaster had been so insistent. Had she done something illegal? It had only been, what like 40 hours now? No way had she already messed up. The door to Ozpin's office loomed into view at the end of the long hallway she had now entered. She thought about her actions so far. She had acquired a weapon, like he asked, made a team, like he asked, and blended in as a student, _like he asked._ Where had she gone wrong?

" _Come in."_

Ruby froze. Before she had even knocked, she had been insisted to enter. In a rather harsh tone as well. Better late than never. She opened the door and stepped inside.

The air in the office was _vastly_ different from the previous day. Before, it had been brightly scented, the curtains were open, and Ozpin had been wearing a pressed green suit. Today, however, everything was different. There was no pleasant scent. The curtains were drawn. And the suit? Forget it. Ozpin had done the announcements via his intercom mic on his desk, so he was wearing his sweatpants and a hoodie. Unbefitting of a man of his stature, usually. He looked upset. He gestured pointedly at a chair.

"Sit down."

Ruby sat. She kept her mouth shut. Ozpin stood behind his desk, his head lowered. He exhaled, angry.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Ruby."

Oh no. He used her first name. Not "Miss Rose" or anything that could be construed otherwise. Literally her first name. What had she _done?_

"What did I do?"

Ozpin scoffed. _Ouch._ He looked up at her over the edge of his glasses.

"Your actions are unbecoming of you. Detrimental, even. What you did in the forest with regards to young Miss Branwen are frankly atrocious, let alone _dangerous._ "

Ruby thought back.

"What, you mean because I threw my weapon at her? She was drawing her sword because I had my back turned!"

Ozpin held up his hand, silencing her.

"She was _sheathing_ her weapon, but that was not my point. You've successfully damaged a relationship that is paramount to your survival before you've even begun it. Do you understand your actions?"

"She was being an asshole, sir-"

She was cut off.

"No, Miss Rose, _you_ were being an asshole. You left her alone to fight that group of beowolves, were completely unreasonable towards her, and furthermore, you were overly amorous with her sibling right in front of her."

Ruby blushed, remembering. Okay, _that_ may have been over the line.

"She told me to stay out her way. Why should I justify actually being nice to her if she has no intention of being nice to me?"

Ozpin nearly flinched.

"What proof do you have that she is anything other than a nice and pleasant girl?"

Ruby stomped her foot and stood up. There was no beating around the bush anymore, she needed to explain to this man _exactly_ why she hated Raven so much.

" _Because she abandoned her daughter_."

Without missing a beat, Ozpin slammed his hand down on the table.

"And so far, It will have been _your_ fault."

Ruby froze, tears forming.

"All of this will be on _your_ head, or rather, on _Summer's._ The way you're acting right now, Raven will leave before she even gets a chance to _smile_ at Mister Xiao Long. At the rate you're going, she'll be gone in two weeks. Do you understand?"

Ruby sat back down, trembling. This wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to be the bad guy. She nodded at him, sadness blocking her throat. She wanted to put her hood up and hide.

"And while we're on the topic of time, let's talk about your _other_ choice."

Ruby looked up at him. He was fiddling with his scroll, flipping though an album of student's faces. He landed on a certain green-eyed blond and turned the screen to face her. Ruby's heart skipped unconsciously.

"Really? You're going to give up on a long standing relationship _just like that_ because of _her?"_

Ruby looked away, angry again, and clear enough to spit a response back.

"Oh, don't bullshit me and tell me people never fantasize about going back in time to date people they would never otherwise get to. And I'm not 'giving up' a relationship, Ozpin, I'm doing what you asked. Blending in. Besides, here in this time, Weiss hasn't even been born yet. Why should it matter?"

Ozpin was quiet for a moment, before speaking in a lowered, _devastating_ tone.

"She will be born this February. Do you understand what that means?"

Ruby nodded.

"That I have five months to do what I want because I am Summer Rose right now, _not_ Ruby Rose."

Ozpin sighed, taking a sip of his coffee. He turned, pacing over to the side of the room. He mumbled under his breath.

"So it has not become clear yet. Hmm."

Ruby suddenly felt concerned. What had not become clear?

"Do you know what it means when I tell you that Weiss will be born in February?"

Ruby shook her head.

"How much older than your sister is your girlfriend, exactly?"

Ruby thought about it for a moment. Her eyes went wide.

"Only n-nine months..."

She trailed off as the headmaster raised his eyebrows and took a sip from his mug. It hit her like a train. Her stomach leapt into her mouth. _Oh fuck, oh shit, oh no._ Her entire body shuddered violently, and her she felt like she was going vomit. She did a mental calculation, figuring out that this meant Yang would have been conceived _during_ the Vytal festival happening in February. That meant she had five months to prevent what she had started. She needed Tai and Raven to be together. But Raven _hated_ her! She had ruined it all. And now with no way to return to the present, she was stuck here to watch the 'magic' not happen! Her body convulsed.

"Now you understand."

Oh, yes she certainly did. She stood up from her chair, and Oz didn't protest. Her head was swimming, and her legs nearly buckled.

"Worry not, child. What you are experiencing is known as 'chronal catchup'. Your body is reacting violently to the information overload. Without proper pacing, your brain will react to the influx of information all at once, and _this_ happens."

All of her breakfast came up at once into the garbage can that Ozpin had pushed over to her. Everything burned on the way back up. The pancakes? More like _pain_ cakes. The eggs? The _uggs,_ more like. It hurt so bad that she felt like crying. The tears came. She tried to scream.

More vomit.

"Fret not, it will pass. I spent two hundred years like that, having time travel morning sickness. Try having every timeline pass through your body at once, let alone just two."

Sweet mother of the gods above was her body in pain. She knew what she had to do. She had to make things right. To fix the Summer that the Ruby had ruined.

She needed to make the...

 _HUUURRRGHBBBLLRLR_

Aaaand the sickness was back. Great. She looked up at Ozpin, who had sat back down at his desk. He took a sip from his mug. The action alone made her gag again.

"I can help you, Miss Rose."

Ruby tilted her sick-covered face back down into the garbage, eyes closed. Her legs were going numb from being tucked up under her body. She spat out the rest of the horror in her mouth into the little chrome bin. She stood up, her legs weak, arms heavy.

"Yeah?" she said, trying to look confident. "How are you...gonna help?"

She had to support herself on the edge of his desk.

"I'll offer you a job. You work for me, and I will help you fix your problems."

Ruby sniffed. "What do I need to do?"

He smiled, standing up and moving over to the wardrobe on the other side of the office. The same one that had held the pearl white cloak not even twenty-four hours ago. Her brow creased as the headmaster pulled the doors open. A small white box was pulled out and placed gently on his table.

"This is yours now." he said, slowly opening it up and revealing the contents. She reached out, picking up the little clutch, filled to the brim with plastic cards. Underneath was the unmistakable blue-vinyl-wrapped shape of a Kingdom of Vale passport. "Or, more accruately, this is _you_ now."

Identification cards. A credit card, a bank card, a health card, a SIN card, and competely out of the blue, a library card. All bearing her name. Well, actually her fake name. _Summer Eloise Rose._

"You will work for me. Now it's not a choice anymore. Here." He handed her a final card with a lanyard attached to it. "That's a faculty pass. You will be able to get in to the school facilities after hours and into the staff lounge. I want you to stay occupied. While you're stuck here."

She was stuck here alright. But it felt less like he wanted her to stay occupied and more like he needed an excuse to watch over her. To make sure she didn't cause any more irreparable damage to the timeline.

"Right." he said, smacking his cane on the table, making her jump. "First off, congratulations on the job, and welcome to the team."

She watched him pace back to her side of the desk, filled with more purpose than before.

"The first step in your journey, my dear, will seem like a difficult one. But not impossible."

"What do I have to do?" she asked, her voice wary.

His smile was not as trustable as she remembered.

"Apologize to Miss Branwen."

She clenched her eyes shut. Of course.

"Oh..."

"Can you make sure this happens, oh say _today?"_

It was super weird to see her formerly stoic and collected professor a) in sweat pants, and b) incredibly angry at her. She was scared.

"I..."

"No hesitation. It _needs_ to happen. Do you want to be ripped out of space and time because you made one angry little girl hate you?"

Ruby sniffled.

"...No."

"Then go up there and make up."

He pointed towards the door. She stood nervously. He emphasized with some exuberant hand motions, and she complied. Just before she left, she turned back and looked at him.

" _NOW!"_

She retreated hastily.

The moment the door was closed, she let out a deep sigh, a hint of a sob leaking in. He was right. She _was_ trapped. It hadn't really sunk in yet. She had been to busy getting a new weapon, showing off said weapon, flirting with apparently everyone who moved, and being rude to poor Raven. She slumped against the large door, the carved contours cutting into her back.

"I hate everything and everyone..."

The taste of vomit was still prominent in her mouth. She sighed. It was now or never. Actually, perhaps that wasn't dramatic enough. It was now of _the entire universe gets ripped apart._ She sobbed, pushing off the wall and standing up. If she didn't know it before, she certainly knew it now. The entire universe depended on her. It was a bitter truth, really. To go from thinking the just the world revolved around you to actually knowing that it did.

"Okay..."

She started walking. Her pace was wobbly, however, as she fought for balance through the swimming of her head. The other students in the hall watched with quiet giggles as she used the wall for support, making her way back out into the courtyard.

The sun beat down on her with a vengeance. Worse than it ever had. Ruby felt like the weight of the entire world was eating away at her and dragging her deeper and deeper. Somebody had hooked a chain to her guts, and was actually pulling her into the centre of hell. Why her? _Why her?_ It was all just so unfair. She wanted to go back home. Back to the regular Beacon, back to the regular Vale, and back to the place that didn't feel like a nightmare had come to life and condemned her to death.

But this was now impossible. With out her being here now, there was no regular _anything_ to go back to. She trudged back around to the student dormitories, the bland grey building more intimidating than welcoming. It sucked to know she was stuck. What would Yang think of her now? Well, accurately Yang couldn't think at all as she hadn't even been conceived yet. Her parents hadn't even properly _met_ yet. What a day she was having.

The stairs in the dorm building still sucked as much as she remembered from Future-Beacon, with the runner at the very top of each floor was still about an eight-inch too short, causing her boots to slap down hard every time she reached it. Apparently this issue plagued even those in the past. So why had no one fixed it? These were the thoughts that occupied her head as she dragged herself up to the fifth floor. The heavy steel door opened with a solid tug into the hallway, the same dull reserved grey carpeting as always. Another sigh.

Her room was down the hall, on the left. Across from Jaune's room. But Jaune wouldn't be there when she arrived. Neither would Pyrrha, Ren, or Nora. Her body fell as she arrived at the door, pulling out her room card. With a heavy heart, she pushed it through the card reader. The little light flashed red.

She blinked.

"Wait, what?"

She tried again. Red light. Ruby frowned and tried again. More red light.

"Well of-fucking-course."

She slid the card into a pocket on her dress, and knocked on the door. After a beat, the door swung open. To her surprise and actual relief, the person who opened the door was _not_ one of her team members. Instead, it was a dark skinned shirtless guy with bulging pecs, a diagonal dragon tattoo cutting down his neck and over the left one. She stared. Like, _really_ stared.

"I...uh..."

She mumbled, focusing on the man's rock-hard abdominals. He tilted his head at her, his grey-green fringe flopping over.

"Can I help you?"

His voice was chocolatey and rich, coming out in waves.

"I... this isn't..."

"Are you here for Viktor?" he leaned back. "Vik! Your sister's here!"

She didn't have time to correct him before the one she could have extrapolated as being 'Viktor' came out from the bathroom. If dragon-and-muscles could be described as being 'ripped', Viktor would have to be called ' _torn'._ Her mouth hung open stupidly, watching this statuesque man in only a towel approach her.

"You're not Elle." his face contorted before softening. "No matter, something we can help you with?"

 _Yeah, a tall glass of some of that, please._

Ruby gave her head a shake to rid it of the lecherous thoughts.

"Uh... not...have... I can't found... Where's the RA?"

Man-Mountain number one raised his hand.

"I am."

Of course.

"Well... I... I can't find my room."

Yeah, that sounded perfectly normal. Viktor turned around and wandered away, leaving her with shirtless hottie with the tat. Just before he was out of sight back in the bathroom, she caught sight of him dropping his towel. The buns, they were _of steel._ She shuddered. Not fair.

"Hold on, I'll see what I can find."

He didn't seem to mind keeping his shirt off in the presence of a girl, and frankly, neither did Ruby. He grabbed a binder off the desk that sat next to one of the beds, and flipped it open.

"You fifth floor?"

She fidgeted.

"I... don't know."

He looked at her through his godly-sculpted eyebrows.

"...Okay. Your name?"

"R... Summer Rose."

 _That was close._

She shut her eyes. He hadn't noticed her slip-up, or if he did, he was too busy flipping pages to care.

"You are... third floor. Room three-three-seven. Why didn't you go to your third floor RA?"

 _Well, at this point, anyone else would have been disappointing._

Ruby rolled her eyes at herself.

"Force of habit I guess? I was on the fifth floor the last two years."

He frowned.

"Says here your a first year."

"Doesn't matter. Thank you!"

She took off, running back towards the stairs. She cursed herself out for letting that little tidbit slip. Two flights of stairs were dealt with rather swiftly as she bolted downward, trying her best to not use her semblance to get out of there quickly. Well, her _real_ semblance. That would be a messy cleanup.

The third floor felt worse than the fifth. Especially with the knowledge that this floor contained a person who hated her and would leave if she didn't fix their relationship. She puffed out her chest. She knew she _had_ to.

"Okay, Ruby. C'mon."

She pushed herself forward, following the edge of the wall and the little signs that lined it. Up ahead, one of the room doors was propped open by a backpack. Her heart skipped a little. Would it be her room? Or just another ruse to waste her time? She was already upset that her fifth-floor room she had spent two years getting used to belonged to someone else. Granted, it was a god-like Residence Advisor, so she thought perhaps a few trips up for some advising wouldn't be so wrong.

The backpack turned out to have a large yellow dragon embroidered across the front. She sighed. Well, this was her room. Some closure, at least. She slowed, not quite bringing herself fully up to the opening. A few voices came out from the room, hushed and very agitated.

" _Look, just deal..."_

" _No, I won't! I'm not gonna deal with that, not now, not ever!"_

" _Rae, come on, be reson-"_

" _No, fuck you, and fuck this school."_

She bit her lip.

" _Rae, you have to stay. We said we'd see this through."_

" _Yeah, that was until I found out this place is full of sociopaths. I'm done. I'm not staying."_

Ruby's mouth fell open. Raven was _leaving?!_

"...no..."

She pushed forward, slamming the door open. It bounced off the plaster wall with a crack.

"Wait!"

Both Raven and Qrow looked over at her from their position over on the bed. Raven was elbow-deep in a suitcase, her clothes stuffed angrily back into it. The instant the woman's eyes met hers, they flashed an angry glare.

" _You!"_

Ruby winced.

"In what _fucking_ god-forsaken universe would I ever wait for anything you say?"

Okay, that was harsher than she was expecting.

"I want to talk to you."

Raven stood upright, crossing her arms. Ruby had briefly forgotten that this woman stood a full foot taller than she did, so angry Raven was very intimidating to her.

"What if _I_ don't want to talk to _you?_ Ever think about that? No, because you only think about yourself."

Ruby looked over at Qrow for some kind of answer. Picking up on this, he rolled his eyes dramatically.

"She's upset because the Prof made _you_ team leader and not her."

"A little girl like her has no credentials to be lead, and besides, she's a bitch! I'm leaving this fucking place, and that's _final!"_

Ruby went into pleading mode. This altercation was already going the wrong way, and saving it might be impossible it seemed.

"Raven, you have to stay!" she cried. "You can't leave!"

"Why, just because you're the 'leader', I have to do what you say? Well, tough shit."

 _No, because without you there's no Yang, no me, no team RWBY, and no future._

"No, of course not... look, can I talk to you? Please?"

"No. I'm not going to be on a team if you're on it. I'm not going to waste all my training having to keep up with a cretin like _you."_

This had derailed. Quite spectacularly. Time for plan L. L for Loud.

"Just SHUT UP!" she yelled. "Shut up for one minute!"

To her surprise, she did. This had never worked before, on anyone. But hey, first time for everything.

"I want to talk to you because I want to apologize."

Raven stayed silent. Ruby could see that her glare was cutting, and if she had been any closer, it might have drawn blood.

"Should I leave you two?" Qrow asked.

Ruby gave him a very apologetic look.

"Please?"

He nodded, getting up off the bed and departing. As he passed behind her, he whispered into her ear.

" _Please, Summer. I need her here."_

Ruby nodded, closing her eyes. With a click, the door closed behind her.

"Speak."

Ruby exhaled.

"I know I've treated you wrong, and I know that's an understatement."

Raven's glare didn't lift.

"And I know that Qrow is your only family right now. I know about the tribe."

Her vision snapped away.

"How would you know about that?"

Ruby winced again.

"Long story, let's just go with I know more than I should. You come from a group of nomads-"

"Bandits."

Ruby paused.

"...Nomads sounds less illegal. Anyway, I know that you left them far behind, and I know that you only have your brother left."

"We didn't leave them behind. We chose to become huntsmen."

Not true. Ruby let her shoulders droop as she slumped against the wall.

"Because your tribe was killed during a raid on their camp."

Raven turned back, the glare returning.

"How could you possibly know that?"

Ruby shook her head, dejected.

"Like I said, I know more than I should."

They stood in silence for a while. Ruby tried not to tear up, remembering having been actually told what happened by Qrow when she was a little girl. Granted, this particular exchange hadn't happened yet, so she was right, she knew more than she should. Would it be worth telling the whole truth, she wondered. Probably not. Raven wouldn't believe it, even if it _was_ true. Ruby tried her luck with a deeper question.

"Where were you going to go?"

A beat.

"I don't know. Away from here."

"You have no home."

"Yeah..."

"Qrow _is_ your home."

She sniffled.

"Why are you like this?"

Ruby shrugged.

"I don't know."

"You're mean.

She nodded.

"I know."

Raven paused, and scratched her head with her nails, but not with any sort of intensity or purpose. Ruby took this opportunity to pad softly over and sit down on the bed Raven was standing beside. Then, as if by magic, Raven sat down on it as well. Her breath caught in her throat. This was the closest she'd ever been to the woman, in this time or her own, where she wasn't trying to kill her. Raven hung her head.

"I'm sorry. Rae."

The woman exhaled hard through her nose.

"Mmm..."

"I am."

 _Time to be honest._

" _..._ I know what it's like."

"...What?"

"To not have a family." she clarified.

Raven tilted her head over. Ruby took a moment to examine the woman's face. Barely seventeen, but so much more mature than she was. Her eyes didn't have the youthful glow that her classmates did, and her skin was showing signs of wind-weathering. Being in a nomadic tribe had done this to her, after all. She was... complicated, but it didn't mean she wasn't beautiful. Just like Yang. Ruby flushed.

"What do you mean?"

"I... don't have a family either. My mom..."

She paused, unsure of how to put this lightly. Or without giving away her secret.

"... She left my dad when I was three. D-died, or something. Grimm attack. Heh. Just like that, _poof,_ she was gone. I don't think I've ever seen my dad cry before, except for that day."

It had rained. For two weeks. Almost like someone was controlling the weather, just to make the situation deliberately more dismal than it needed to be.

"My dad... well, actually we _all_ fell into a dark place after that. He gave up his job, gave up leaving the house. Damn near gave up living. I remember having to live with Uncle Qr...uh, with my uncle Vic for a couple of months."

"Why'd you have to do that?"

It seemed odd that she had an interest. Ruby internally wiped her brow for avoiding the very near slip-up.

"He... had to go to a rehab clinic. Which is actually the same place my uncle went shortly after, but for his drinking."

She had to pause again. It felt wrong predicting the exact events that would befall both Tai and Qrow. But Raven needed to know.

"It sucked for a while, but we came back from it. You know, we had our... happy little family. Me, my dad, my sister. It was great."

She paused to inhale. Raven sat, enthralled.

"And then, one day, thanks to my own doing, they were gone. Just like that. Everyone I knew and loved, gone."

"...How?"

"An... accident... with dust."

"Oh. It's a... sore subject?"

Ruby nodded.

"Everyone you loved, huh?"

And again.

"Does this include that... girl?"

Ruby frowned.

"Which girl?"

"The one you said you had your eyes on."

Ruby chuckled.

"Heh, no she's new. But that's a long shot at best. No, but when the accident happened, my actual girlfriend was gone too. So yeah, now I have no one at all. You know, you remind me a lot of her"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She was just like you. Pissy, kinda rude, _really_ against me being team leader. Unbelievably gorgeous. Did the same thing as you, threatened to leave. Almost made it out the door, too."

Raven paused, halfway through a word, flushing. Ruby pushed on.

"We had our differences. I was a naive little girl, with big ambitions of being this world-beating huntress. I was kinda a douchebag, if I'm honest. I didn't study, I slacked off, my sister and I would cut class all the time. So, not exactly what the preppy rich kid wanted for a leader. But, I had to prove that I was the more mature one, and eventually I did, and she came around."

"...then you dated?"

She shrugged.

"Yeah, for a while. Started using the L-word, and everything."

"Lesbians?"

Ruby snorted.

"Yes, that one too."

They both chuckled quietly. The room fell silent for a few moments as Ruby let the new information sink in. She had noticed that Raven had subconsciously started braiding one of the tassels on the hem of her coat. The very _same_ braid pattern that Yang used to wear in her hair when she was little. She'd seen it in all the photographs.

"And then... the accident?"

"It was a little while ago." she lied. "I'm trying to get over the loss. So, I'm probably acting like a dick, still. I don't know how to fix it."

"Me neither."

Ruby exhaled, turning to face the woman on the bed with her.

"How about this; I'll try my best to be a better person for you, and we'll work together on this team. I know we're probably not friends, and I know you probably don't like me yet, but I want us to be friends, and I know we can make it work."

Of course they could. They had to. For the future. For Yang.

"Okay..."

Ruby's heart skipped a beat.

"On one condition, though."

"Anything."

Raven looked around, probably to make sure no one was listening in on them.

"Okay, maybe two." Ruby indicated this was alright, prompting her to continue. "First, you never tell anyone about the tribe I'm from or what happened."

"Your secret is safe with me."

"And second, you don't get to ask me about Tai anymore. Got it?"

"I... Oh. Uh, okay. Why not?"

This seemed both sudden and punitive. Ruby could see Raven's cheeks redden slightly, and the faintest, _faintest_ of smiles cross her lips. A good sign. Ruby nearly jumped the woman to demand answers, but held herself back. Barely.

"Be... because. I-I said so. If I feel like talking about it, I will. Is that so much to ask?"

"No no, that's fine." She gave a big smile. "Whenever you're ready. So I think we have a deal. You stay here, I stay quiet."

"Sounds good to me. Thank you, Summer."

Ruby shook the woman's hand with vigour. Any progress was good progress.

"Right! Lets get you unpacked, okay?"

Raven nodded with a dry chuckle.

"Sure. If you're so eager."

Ruby bounced to her feet., But Raven caught her by the wrist.

"Oh, and one other thing..."

"What's that?"

"Don't expect me to come around the same way your other friend did, Summer. I'm not into that."

Ruby gave her a wink for good measure.

"You sure?"

She received a pillow in the face.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

It was a good morning. For the first time since she arrived in this time. With a bright sun shining in the windows, and a cool breeze rolling through the room, Ruby felt invigorated. Today was one of two things. Number one, it was the first official day of classes, which meant learning in a new environment, even if it was the same school as before. She was just now attending class _with her professors._ The second thing that today was, and _boy_ was she glad for it, was the day they got fitted for uniforms.

"Rae, wake up! Tai! Qrow! Everyone up and at 'em!"

She received a series a groans from the three other beds haphazardly occupying their room. It was six-thirty already! They were gonna be late of they didn't wake the hell up!

"Guys, c'mon! You're wasting the day!"

Raven tried to throw a pillow at her.

" _Go'way._ "

"Do you not _want_ your uniforms?"

Tai rolled over in front of her and squinted upwards. He had a nasty case of bed head this morning, and to be honest, Ruby genuinely thought it was the most adorable thing she'd ever seen him do.

"Summer, it's too early. Why're you even awake?"

It was _not_ too early. This was supposed to be the man that had her and Yang up at six every morning so they could be bathed, clothed, and looking presentable for school every day, _and_ have time to get himself ready to go to his job. He needed some encouragement, it seemed.

"Taiyang Xiao Long, my good friend, today is the day we start school. If we aren't up in five minutes, we will be late for our uniform fittings, then that will make us late for class, and that will make it so we don't pass, and then we will fail out of school and become homeless! Do you want to be homeless, Tai?"

He sighed and put his arm over his face.

"Ugh."

" _Why do we need to get fitted? What's wrong with my regular clothes?"_ Qrow asked with his head in a pillow. Ruby smirked.

"Because this is a respectable private institution, and we wear uniforms here. Now _get up!"_

She grabbed both Qrow and Tai by the legs and dragged them off their respective beds and onto the floor. This would normally have been a reasonable thing to do to a roommate who won't get up in the morning, but Ruby was quickly realizing why she shouldn't have been so bold. As the two boys tumbled to the carpet, she saw something, or rather _some things_ she would have preferred to never see, not now or ever for the rest of her life.

Because Qrow and Tai both slept naked.

Normally, Ruby should have been disgusted. This was her father and her uncle, after all, presenting the maximum amount of skin to her at six-thirty in the morning, all wrinkled and loose. But thanks to her flick of the wrist, they had fallen one on top of the other, front to front. It would have been rude to _not_ laugh.

"Ack!"

"What the _fuck!"_

Like two greased weasels, they separated with _force,_ flailing backwards into the two beds she had so rudely yanked them from. Their jiggly bits did as they were designed to do as they retreated up and onto the beds the other had come from. Ruby's leg collapsed as she tried to not pass out from how hard she was laughing. She was crying at this point, and tears of joy streamed from her face.

"Your junk touched my junk!"

"No, _yours_ touched _mine!"_

" _Ew!"_

" _Gross!"_

Raven had sat up, but quickly averted her eyes from the scene that had... revealed itself.

"Qrow, what the _fuck?!"_

"Look, she dragged me out of bed!"

Raven's voice turned violent, rather quickly, Ruby noticed.

"That's not my point, why are you sleeping naked?!"

Qrow turned beet red as he wrapped himself up in Tai's blanket.

"I always do! I thought you knew this!"

"That was when we slept in separate rooms! _NOT WHEN WE SLEEP IN THE SAME ROOM!"_

"Rae, shut up! It's who I am, and you can't stop me!"

" _I'M GONNA SAW YOUR DICK OFF!"_

Ruby rolled onto her back, gasping for air. She couldn't breathe properly anymore, and now she couldn't see properly either.

"Please- stop- can't... bre-heathe!" she tried to push out through the fit of giggles. To no avail.

She was defeated. Ruby Rose, the second-greatest huntress alive, in her opinion, had been defeated. Not by a creature of Grimm, not by natural disaster, but by two penises. Two very hilarious, early morning penises.

" _Put them away, BOTH OF YOU!"_ Raven yelled.

Qrow had coiled himself up under the blankets on Tai's bed to try and hide from his twin's ire. He'd need more than some low-thread count cotton sheets to avoid her. Tai, on the other hand, didn't seem like he wanted to hide, per se. Sure, he had covered his man parts with a pillow, specifically _Qrow's,_ but he wasn't showing any signs of hiding any further. His pastie white thighs were on display for the whole world to see, now. Sitting up, Ruby could see that said thighs were very well toned for a young man of his age, and he didn't seem embarrassed by the exposure, either.

"Can you... you can... pants... gonna die..." she laughed out.

Tai showed no indication or inclination of reaching for his dresser.

"Sorry you had to see this, Summer."

He didn't _sound_ sorry. Ruby had to pull herself back up onto her feet with the edges of the two beds, but she managed even if her legs were completely useless. She took a quick glance over to where Raven was sitting, her back to them all and her arms crossed. Ruby smirked. Raven must have thought she was pretty clever, but she could see the tall woman trying to sneak a glance back over to where Tai was sitting.

For good reason, if she was being honest. Taiyang was a buff individual. Attractive by both traditional _and_ her own weird standards. Still kinda felt weird to see him without clothes on. She'd seen him in a bathing suit enough times twenty years from now, so this was a little off putting. But she appreciated Raven's subtle intrigue.

"Hokay!" she finally settled on, shaking out her hair and trying her best to avert her eyes. "You two, get some pyjamas on _with shirts,_ and c'mon with us. Rae, let's give these two perverts some personal space for a moment, then we can all go get fitted for uniforms, okay?"

"Yes, please."

Before Ruby could move, Raven had gotten up off her bed and bolted out the door, slamming it behind her. So quickly, in fact, that her butt-print was still visible on the sheets for a minute after. Ruby flustered for a moment, before turning her attention back to the boys.

"Two minutes. Then out of here. Capisce?"

"Yes, Summer." Tai said, sheepishly scratching his head.

She looked at the mess of blankets where Qrow hid.

"Mister Branwen?"

" _Yes, Summer."_

Her scary smile returned.

"Excellent! We'll be waiting for you out here."

She spun around and left the room as well. As she had expected, Raven was leaning against the opposite wall, still clad in her black-on-black full length pyjama set. The slippers she had slid on matched as well. Having been given only five minutes to prepare, if that, her hair wasn't done up and all hung around her face like a curtain. A very messy curtain.

"Fucking boys, am I right?" she asked of her moody partner.

"I hate them both."

Ruby shrugged. She remembered she had a hair elastic in her pocket and dug it out, only to find two. She handed one to Raven.

"Eh, what can you do. Here."

Raven nodded her thanks.

"But who the fuck sleeps naked in an _open dorm room,_ not to mention when there are _two_ girls with them, and one of them is their _sister!"_

Ruby gave her head another shake as she pulled her hair back into a low, short ponytail. Raven's was much higher and much more impressive, even with the chronic case of disaster-hair she had proudly displayed on the top of her head.

"Qrow and Tai, I guess."

"Can you use your Leader powers on them and make them wear clothes to bed?"

Ruby smiled.

"Hun, I could probably get them to wear suits of armour to bed. Or just like, all the time."

"Heh. That'd be funny. I'd like to see Qrow in Medieval armour try to fight me. I'd cut his fuckin' head off!"

"Can we maybe _not_ dismember him, please? Or at least wait until combat class?"

Raven pouted. It was adorable.

"Fine, whatever you say."

Ruby smiled up at the tall, messy-dressed woman. She still unfortunately had a bit of a stiff air to her, but she was considerably softer now than she had been two days ago when they had collided... twice. Ruby wondered what the woman was thinking, and what possible ways she could break through the brusque and aggressive facade and into the soft, caring core. She didn't actually know if said core even existed, but she did know the principle that of you kneaded a stiff pencil eraser enough times it would become smooth. Thumbing an eraser, however, was a lot easier than thumbing Ra-

 _Gross thoughts._

She shook her head, her ponytail slapping against the wall. Raven glanced over, a concerned look crossing her face.

"Y'all right?"

Ruby coughed, turning a fair shade of pink.

"Yeah, no- I'm just... Where are the boys?"

She seemed puzzled. For good reason. "Still in the room. Where we left them... Did you get enough sleep? Are you coming down of some morning high?"

"I- shut up."

Raven shrugged an ' _alright',_ crossing her arms and fiddling with the sleeve of her shirt. Ruby could feel a little bit of heat rising from her collar. This was _not_ the time, nor the place.

 _Why not though?_

Because many, many reasons. Her suffering was swiftly ended as the bedroom door swung open and her two other roommates sauntered out. Well, Tai certainly sauntered. Qrow seemed more like he was _oozing_ out of the room. Despite the nude awakening, he seemed to have fallen back asleep in the last five minutes.

"You fuckers take too long." Raven complained. Tai seemed almost prideful.

"You gotta problem, take it up with my agent."

"Tai, I'm gonna insist you grab your partner and let's motor. Okay?"

Ruby straightened, gesturing to him to grab the slow-moving liquid man.

"Yeah, I got'im." He slung Qrow's arm over his shoulders.

"Don't touch me, man."

Qrow recoiled, trying to slap him away. He was too tired to do so, so he missed. And hit the one person in the world most likely to murderize him for the effort, right in her face. Raven did not, however, murderize her brother, though the glare she gave him was fiery enough to melt the floors and the walls. Ruby certainly felt intimidated, and the baleful gaze wasn't even directed anywhere _near_ her.

"Right, let's go!"

"Don't shout, it's too early..."

"Wake the fuck up, idiot."

Ruby led on, down to the staircase at the end of the hall.

"I never asked for this."

"Shouldn't have befriended little Miss Early Worm, Qrow."

Ruby choked back a chuckle. Good reference, she thought.

"She's lucky _she_ gets to be the worm in that scenario. I'm tired of you being the bird and me being the worm."

"Maybe so. Move your ass before I kick you down the stairs, bird-breath."

"At least I'm not a worm."

Ruby paused, halfway down the stairs on a landing. Any faster and Tai would have slammed into her back.

"I feel like I need you to explain that metaphor, guys."

Raven smirked, clamping a hand down on Qrow's shoulder.

"Early bird gets the worm. I used to beat him up in the morning."

Ruby squinted up at them, concerned.

"Like, wake up before him?"

"Nope."

Of course.

"Oh. Well, if you try any of that, _bird-breath,_ this worm will tear your limbs off."

It was hard to be intimidating in pyjama shorts and an oversized t-shirt, but Qrow visibly recoiled into his sister.

"I got you."

"Good."

Without another word, she spun back around and hopped down the next flight of stairs. At the bottom, she kicked the door to the outside world and the light came flooding in. Everyone except for Ruby had to shield their eyes from the bright glare. She'd been outside already that morning to have herself a brisk stroll around the campus and buy a box of granola bars for the cupboard in their room. The warmth of the September air was quite nice now, much better than earlier. She inhaled deeply as she skipped ahead of her comrades, into the large dorm courtyard.

"So, can you enlighten me as to why we're up so early, oh fearless leader?" Raven asked, mildly irate. "I thought we were supposed to get our uniforms at eight?"

Ruby shrugged, pulling her lanyard out from down her shirt. On the end hung her faculty card, the laminated surface shining in the sunlight.

"I'm getting us in early."

They all looked equally perplexed. She realized that no 'first-year' student, or _any_ student for that matter should even have one of these. She stuttered her response.

"Uh, team leader privileges are good things, Rae."

"I don't-"

"We're given cards to get into the ' _Leader Planning and Strategy'_ room for when we're to go on hunts." She hoped none of them were the wiser, and that seemed to be the case. "Furthermore, that happens to be the room where the uniforms are kept, so we can get in first."

"Why would that matter? We're gonna get them anyways. Why do we need to be so early?"

Ruby swiped her card against the reader on the side entrance of the Beacon main building. Flashing her a little green light, the door unlocked and she pushed it open. The eerie quiet of the school at this hour was certainly unnerving. She had a plan, but nobody needed to know that _yet._

"Yeah, they give first-years used uniforms to save money. They say if you can make it to second year without dropping out, you can get a fresh, tailor-made uniform."

Utter bullshit, but she pressed on, skipping down the hallway.

"That seems both gross, and unhygienic."

"And a waste of storage resources." Qrow added.

"You guys are just being dramatic, I'm sure they wash them. Right, Summer?"

Ruby smirked.

"Nah, they don't even bother. Something about how it's not worth the money to buy us all new uniforms when we're just going to _DIE!"_

She spun around and jumped at them, her hands raised and a crazy expression on her face. All three of them jumped back in unison with a yelp. Ruby laughed and clutched her stomach.

"Nah, I'm just kidding. It's just a cost-saving measure. Turns out Headmaster Pine is cheap as hell."

"Man, you have a convenient explanation for everything, huh." Raven mused with a chuckle. "Why is that, I wonder?"

Ruby shrugged as they rounded the corner to where the storage room was situated. Nice and hidden away, out of view of any of the other early morning students who were milling about in the lobby.

"My superior intelligence. Here we are, boys. Our uniforms!"

She popped over to the door, and gave the card-reader a swipe. Just as before, the light flashed green and the latch made a loud click. She punted it open and hopped through the opening, with her team following nervously suit. The floors and walls were lined with cardboard boxes, all with sizes written on them in marker. Ruby took a long drawn breath in her nose. The smell, the delicious smell of fresh fabric was intoxicating. It brought her right back to first year again. She shivered.

"Alright!" she cheered, spinning around. "Welcome to the room of dreams. Fresh uniform. Who's up first? Rae?"

The woman shrugged.

"Guess so."

"Perfect!" she scurried along a row of boxes. "What size of shirt do you wear? Medium?"

"That's none of your business."

Ruby's smile fell. She levelled a glare over at her. "Do you want it to fit or not?"

Raven crossed her arm, flushing. "Large."

"Okay lar- wow, really?"

"Shut up. I have long arms."

"How tall are you, like five-eleven?"

Raven tried to shrink deeper into her skin, as if to seem even shorter.

"Six-two."

"Large it is, then."

She tore the tape off of the box in front of her and pulled the flaps open. With a giddy grin, she grabbed the neatly plastic-wrapped uniform from the top of the pile, gently holding it in her arms.

"And what size shoe do you wear?"

"...woman's eleven."

Impressive. Ruby stood, looking for the boxes of shoes. She skipped over, and pulled a box open. The shoes came out, wrapped in plastic as well. She dashed back over to Raven and handed her the new uniform.

"And there you are, my Amazonian friend."

"Shut the fuck up, Summer."

She seemed pleased, despite her harsh words. There was genuine appreciation behind her voice. Ruby gleamed. She looked over to Qrow. He was fidgeting, shifting left and right on his feet. She frowned.

"Something the matter, man?"

"Gotta pee. You got me out of bed before I had the chance to do my morning stuff."

The most wicked of smiles came to her, but she kept it inside. All of her planning was about to fall through, and that was okay. She hadn't expected this kind of opportunity to present it self and it was _glorious._ Her original plan was going to involve paying off Tai to do something embarrassing, but when opportunity knocks, Ruby opens.

"Shit, hold on."

She ran back over to the box and grabbed a second uniform. With a quick visit back to the box of shoes and a quick guestimate on his foot size based of what she had seen when she yanked him out of bed, she grabbed a pair and shoved both things into his arms.

"Here. Go change in the bathroom."

He smiled, winking and pointing some finger guns at her.

"Thanks, Mere."

He turned and awkwardly walked out of the storage room, closing the door behind him with a click. Ruby held her breath in for a few moments, waiting for his footsteps to recede down the hall. She bit her tongue to stop from burst out laughing right there on the spot. She turned back around to where Tai and Raven stood. Raven hadn't noticed, she was too busy pulling open the plastic wrapper on her uniform. His mouth hung open in a sly smile, his eyebrows on the damn moon.

"Did you just..."

Ruby nodded vigorously, having to bend over and support herself on her knees.

"Yeah, I did."

He laughed one solid laugh, clapping his hands together. Raven dropped her blouse, looking up at the two of them.

"You savage _animal,_ Summer."

"Did I miss something?"

Ruby shot a glance over at Tai, who winked back at her. "Don't worry about it. We'll tell you later." He said, clapping the distracted woman on the shoulder. Ruby let out a short sigh of relief.

"What if I want to know?"

"We'll tell you later." He repeated, pushing himself off the wall.

She shrugged her noncommittence. "Whatever you say, dude. Go get your uniform before they find us here."

A good idea. Ruby checked her watch, before remembering she didn't wear one. It felt like about seven, which meant they'd run out of time for breakfast if they didn't get their butts in gear. Her and Tai dashed around the room, pulling open some boxes and grabbed their own correctly sized uniforms. Someone was going to notice what they had done, but Ruby didn't care. It was going to be worth it.

They changed into their respective uniforms fairly quickly, making sure to obscure themselves with piles of boxes so nobody got any clear view of anyone else. This in itself was a surprisingly new concept for Ruby, as no one had ever had problems changing around each other back from when she was from. Yang, Blake, and especially Weiss had no issues with her nudity in the dorm room, and they would always change together in the mornings. It made her suddenly wonder how her neighbours across the hall dealt with it. She figured Ren never had problems, being all stoic and mysterious, and Nora would probably be the one jumping on the bed with her tits flying all over the place. Pyrrha and Jaune, on the other hand...

"God, this is fucking _humiliating."_

Ruby glanced over, watching Raven come out from behind a stack of boxes. Ruby's mouth hit the floor. There she stood, in all her hugely tall glory, perfectly filling out the uniform like she had been the original model it had been designed on. The subtle curves of the waistcoat, the perfect falling of the skirt, and even the perfectly tied ribbon around her collar impressed her. Those ribbons were a bitch on _good_ days. The coat and the skirt weren't what captured Ruby's- and Tai's- attention. No, that _honour of honours_ went to the thirty miles of _leg_ that protruded out the bottom of the skirt. Ruby went a little crosseyed.

"Geez, guys, don't fucking look, you're making it worse!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and tried to turn away. Ruby's eyes remained fixed on the thighs. And by golly, were they thick. And currently clad in the uniform-required black thigh-highs. Having seen Glynda in her probably-bought-outside-school-premesis uniform the other morning was one thing, but this was a new experience all together. Raven was very nearly as tall as Glynda was, and she was built like a tank. A _sexy_ tank. Perfectly toned thighs, well-filled blouse, and better proportioned than any other woman she'd met, and that included Pyrrha.

"Fuck it, I'm getting back into my pyjamas."

"But that's not allowed by code, Rae."

"Don't call me that! You don't get to call me that!"

Tai had to dodge a pair of Mary Janes tossed at his head.

"But _she_ gets to call you that, why can't I?"

"Because she doesn't stare at my legs in this skirt!"

Ruby didn't have the heart to tell her. She laughed anyways.

"God, you're precious, Rae. Let's go get breakfast before everyone takes all the waffles."

Raven kicked her way out of the room again, the whole time flipping them both off with both hands. Back out in the hallway, the air was quiet and cool as they made the long trudge back through the courtyard to the lunchroom. The smell wafting from the lunchroom was one of sweet and delicious pastries and cereals. As they pushed the door open, Ruby could only see one other student so diligent as them.

Glynda sat at the far wall up against the windows, shovelling what looked like a plate solely covered in syrup. She stopped eating as the door to the cafeteria clicked shut. Ruby watched as she glanced up from her plate and turned a vivid red as their eyes met.

"Hey, I'm gonna grab some Chex, you want anything?"

She was startled by Tai's slap of her shoulder, causing her to break eye contact. She turned to her new crew. Tai _already_ had his tie and top two buttons undone and his blazer slung over his shoulder. She frowned at him, preparing to reprimand, but gave up mid thought. This was just who he was.

"Yeah, bagel I guess."

"Sesame?"

"With cream cheese."

He smiled, winking. "I got you, babe."

She winked back. "Thanks, babe. I'll be in the corner with Glyn."

They separated, Raven and Tai disappearing into the kitchens, and Ruby skipping over to the table by the window. Glynda perked up as she got closer.

"Morning, G, how's it going?" she asked as a formality.

"Hey, Summer. I like the uniform. You get that from a surplus store too?"

Ruby grinned, sliding into the bench across from her. She popped the collar as if she was imitating a gangster. The fresh label popped out of the lapel.

"Nope. She's brand new."

Glynda's fork his the plate.

"Guh- _what?_ Those aren't for first years!" she paused, straightening up and putting on a sly grin. "How'd you get one?"

"Not important. What _is_ important is what's gonna happen next."

"Whassat?"

"Patience. Where's your crew?"

"Bart's outside, running laps. Meyln and Arancia are probably still asleep."

Meyln Arc and Arancia Rosso were Glynda's new team members and fifty percent of the newly formed Team Gambit. Meyln was a timid girl, blond as the rest of her six sisters, and as tall as Glynda. She bore the very same sword and shield that her father had, his father before him, and his father before that during the Great War. A sword that would be passed down to her youngest sibling in some eighteen years. Arancia, on the other hand, was her polar opposite. Brash and fairly rude, she was a fair foot and a half shorter than her other three towering teammates, but made up for it in spirit. Ruby might have described her had she known her in her own time as 'Nora, but with a bow.' Last night at dinner she had had her steak shot off of her fork by a stray orange-red arrow from the other end of the table. She might have been strange, but she was a damn crack shot.

"Where's yours?"

"Breakfast and the bathroom. Oh, speaking of."

Tai and Raven had returned, with two trays of food. With a quick and cursory glance, it was pretty obvious that Raven should not have been left alone with her blond compatriot. She seemed either hot under the collar or hot and bothered, she wasn't quite sure which. But it was pretty obvious, as all that was on her plate was three forks and a box of strawberry milk. Tai sat down on Glynda's side, and Raven took up residence on her side, across from Glynda.

Tai slid a plate with a bagel on it over to her. It was toasted with the right amount of crisp on the edges, coated in a copious amount of cream cheese nearing an inch thick. She grinned. This was exactly the way she used to have bagels when she was a kid. But of course it was. Tai was her dad. Her smile became a shiver. Spooky. In a panic, and with concern for Raven having breakfast, she distracted herself and everyone at the table by reaching across it and nabbing Glynda's muffin, tossing it to the tall woman to her left.

"Uh, puh, thanks."

Ruby smiled. "Don't mention it."

Lucky for her, Glynda had too much waffle in her mouth to say anything bad against it. Ruby dug into her bagel, melting into her seat as the warm toasted bun flowed through her.

"You know, you've had this insidious smile on your face ever since Qrow left us."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Rae."

"You _did_ give him his uniform, right? He's not gonna be walking around in his underwear or anything revealing like that, _right?"_

Ruby said nothing. Just smiled.

"Summer?!"

"Hey, what's going on over there?" Tai asked, pointing over to the main entrance to the cafeteria. The students that had been milling around had gone silent, leaving the large room with an eerie air as one particular student strode through them.

It was Qrow.

He strode through the mass of students near the front, and they parted to the sides like he was a deity gliding on air. From their spot, he was only visible from the waist up, and that was enough to silence everyone at their table. The _women's_ blazer was a weird fit on him, but it was a _perfect_ fit. His blouse was done up all the way with the red ribbon tied up and snug around his neck, perfectly ironed and press.

"Somethings..." Raven started, her brow furrowing. "...wrong with this picture."

He came around the edge of the other table to reveal his glory. Yes, something was wrong with this picture. But _so many_ things were right with it, too.

"What..." Glynda started.

"...the..." Tai continued.

"... _Fucking hell is this shit?!"_ Raven finished.

Ruby burst out laughing.

 _All_ of Qrow's pasty, mile-long legs were on full display under the slightly too short plaid uniform skirt he was dressed in. She dropped her bagel, falling herself onto the floor. Her three tablemates were completely dumbfounded by this. Tai was the next to start laughing, dropping his spoon into his cereal.

"Hey Qrow, nice legs!" he shouted, slapping the table.

"Thank you?" he replied, oh so innocently. This set both Glynda and Raven off, them both splitting in half from laughter. Ruby had to roll over onto her side, as she was now having trouble breathing.

"Something the matter, guys?" he asked, clearly oblivious.

"Yeah, your legs are showing, Bird-brain!" Raved cawed, clutching her stomach and stamping her leg. "But he's right, you have nice legs, bro."

Qrow recoiled, disgusted.

"What- what're you saying?"

Glynda stood, then with the voice of someone who had just noticed an alien sitting in church, yelled "You're wearing a girl's uniform!"

Qrow screamed, and bolted from the room.

Ruby laughed so hard she cried.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ruby tapped her pen nervously against the table ink side down, creating little spots of blue on the fine veneer surface. It had dawned on her about two minutes ago that the marks she was creating _were_ the marks she'd seen worn in and weathered two years ago on her actual first day. She had subconsciously started to draw a snowflake with the etchings, and now the end of her pen was nearly worn clean off.

Fourteen minutes had passed since the start of class.

And their teacher still hadn't arrived. One more minute, and they'd legally be allowed to leave. She smirked, her tapping not slowing any. The ribbon around her neck had been tied _way_ too tight for her liking. Damn Tai fussing on her after the breakfast incident. Damn Qrow getting the contents of his pencil case all over the front of her skirt. And _extra_ damn Raven for looking _so damn fine_ in that plaid mini-skirt.

"Sorry, sorry!" came a nervous voice as the door to the classroom burst open. "I forgot my coffee in my car, then I spilled it all over the headmaster, and then I forgot my lesson plan in the office."

Ruby stopped stabbing the table, setting her pen down and sitting up straight in her chair. The teacher strode over to the podium at the front of the room, his notebooks hitting the surface with a thud. He seemed... frazzled.

"Right... uh..."

He was tall, lanky, and very awkward in his posture. His narrow face seemed to have a permanent worry etched into it, especially around his yellowed eyes. He wore a brown tweed jacket over a ruffled white dress shirt, and similarly brown pants and a pair of rather well-polished black leather shoes. They looked quite expensive. The man huffed and straightened his jacket, turning a smile to his students. A strikingly familiar smile.

"Good morning, students, my name is Mr. Callows, and I..."

He broke off for a moment to write his name on the chalkboard, and then the course name in large white text.

"... will be your History of Remnant teacher for this semester."

Ruby squinted down at him. The young man seemed to have an air of nerves about him, as if he wasn't used to teaching, or at least teaching this many people. To be fair, this was the first time she'd ever seen this lecture hall filled to capacity.

"First off, I'd like to give you a little personal history." he paused to take a drink from the water bottle that had replaced the spilled coffee. "I was born in Mistral, not far down the road from Haven Academy to two former soldiers from the Faunus Revolutionary War around about twenty-six years ago. I attended Haven for my Huntsman training, where I was bullied and laughed at almost constantly. But hey, look at me know, I have a well paying job and a custom tweed jacket with elbow pads, so who's on top now, Jeremy?"

This prompted a quiet chuckle from his audience, even making Ruby smile.

"After that, I attended Atlas U for my education degree, and took my placement at Anfang Academy of Sciences to obtain a masters in history. I was also beat up a lot in university too, but that was fine since university lockers are all equipped with espresso machines for those early morning classes, if you know what I'm sayin'."

Another round of chuckles. Maybe it was his posture that was throwing her off. The way he stood with his feet together and his knees bent just ever so slightly. The short, well trimmed hair however was taking any ill thoughts she had and wiping them away. No, the person he reminded her of had _long_ hair, that was almost a dark black it was so brown. His wide smile was off-putting, mind you.

"I got offered a job here not long after, and now I work for the illustrious Beacon Academy Science department under the tutelage of the great Headmaster Pine himself! I mean it's only been one year and already he wants to instate my tenure. Now, whether that means I'm doing a good job or he's desperate for full-timers, I don't really care."

The rest of the class, her teammates included were just eating this joker up. Ruby leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Something was off about this 'Mr. Callows' fellow, and she wasn't about to let her guard down.

"But what I _do_ care about is your enjoyment of my class. And your comfort with the material." His voice took a sudden serious turn. "Now, on the topic of, we'll be discussing some pretty serious subject matter that isn't for everyone. Specifically the poor treatment of the Faunus throughout history."

The room had shifted to a more serious air. Mr. Callows raised an eyebrow at his students.

"If anyone has a problem with the Faunus or the history of, now is the time to leave my class. I won't tolerate that sort of racism in my institution. For the next three hours, this is my turf and you'll go by my rules, and my number one rule is _no racism._ Is that clear, _Mr. Winchester?"_

No, it couldn't be. Ruby's head snapped over to where the teacher was looking. She lost her voice as soon as she saw the student sitting alone up in the back row. He was tall, blond, and as muscular as she thought he might be, given the name. It was almost a carbon copy of Cardin, the resident bully from _her_ time. No, it couldn't _be._ That would mean she wasn't the only time traveller! She struggled to wrap her head around it.

"Yes, sir." the boy said. His voice had a much more pronounced gruffness to it than Cardin's had.

"Thank you, Gregory. Wouldn't want to be taking this course a _third_ time, now would we?"

"No, sir."

"I hear you just got yourself a new baby brother?"

"That's right, sir."

He smiled. "Well, let's hope by the time he gets to my class you've cleaned up your act."

Gregory? She took another look at the boy. Now that she'd had a chance to look closer, maybe he did have a lot of differences to the bully from her time. She relaxed, only slightly.

"Excellent. Now, since your friend Mr. Winchester up there is the only one who knows my secret, I feel it pertinent to tell you all, based on the aforementioned subject matter."

He took a moment to pull off his sweet tweed coat and place it gently over the back of the chair he'd set at the edge of the stage. He kept his back to the board. She was starting to piece it together. Young man, from Mistral, narrow yellow eyes, penchant for brown coats, a voice that sounded like a deeper version of King Satan from her favourite Saturday morning cartoon series.

"Much like some of your classmates, like Miss Rosso up there, and Mr. Talbot down here in the front row... I too, am a Faunus."

And with the grace of a swan, the long segmented scorpion tail curled out from behind his back.

Ruby froze, her body locking up.

"I feel it is my duty to tell you now that if you don't like this fact, leave my class now. You will be marked as absent and will fail, and be forced to take it during the summer semester with Profe-"

"TYRIAN!" Ruby shouted, bolting upright.

The whole class went silent. Everybody turned to look up at her, including the teacher himself. Her hand was on her hip, clenched in a fist as if trying to grip down on a weapon that wasn't there.

"Y-yes, that's my name. Should I know you, Miss...Rose, is it?"

 _Yes, he should. That bastard attacked our school and our family! He needs to pay!_

Her mind was racing. This... _evil_ man stood before the class as if to taunt her. After the attacks during her _real_ first year, her and her team went on a mission to collect vital intel on the source of the creatures of Grimm. They had tracked a lead all the way across Anima to Haven, passed destroyed city after destroyed city. And at the centre of it all, protecting a certain treacherous headmaster, was this animalistic mercenary known as Tyrian. Brutal, devoid of any humanity, ruthless. _Evil._

 _And this was that monster,_ putting on this convincing facade of a teacher.

"Who are you..." she whispered down at him.

He gave her a look, gesturing at himself, then the crowd as he looked to some of the other students as if looking for an explanation.

"Were you... not listening... to my lecture?" he asked tilting his head, his tail floating lazily around behind him. "On the first day of class?"

Another quiet chuckled bounced around the room. Tyrian narrowed his already narrow eyes at her and stepped forward on his stage. Her breath caught in her throat.

"Mighty bold of you, Miss Rose. Actually...you look familiar."

He approached, Ruby wanted to run, but her legs were frozen. She couldn't even sit down. _Evil._

"You have silver eyes. I went to college with a girl who had silver eyes. Brown hair like yours as well, actually. You have a sister or a cousin or anyone like that who went to Atlas U?"

Ruby shook her head. Raven had been trying to pull her back down by her sleeve for a few moments now, and she'd only just realized, dropping her butt back onto her chair.

"Eh, oh well. She was cool. Had psych with her. Think she joined the army or something. Anyways, doesn't matter. This is a history class, not an _ancient_ history class."

This guy had a knack for crowds. Ruby's face hung numbly on her skull, not able to process any emotion beyond dumbstruck. There was no way. _No way!_ And the worst part was that nobody would believe her.

"Now, I apologize for any interruptions in the future, class. That won't be a problem, will it, Miss Rose?"

 _ **EVIL.**_

"N-no, sir. I'm sorry." She said, shrinking down a little. This was not okay. _She_ was not okay. A lot of corporate espionage would need to be done. She was _not_ going to let him get away with _it_ again. Not for the sake of her friends. Nora'd spent three months in the ICU because of this man. Ren, _six._ She shivered.

"Okay, now where was I..." he paused in mock confusion, before snapping to attention. "Right! I'm a faunus, so if anyone has a problem with that, please leave the classroom."

His tail hooked itself over his head as a real scorpion might, holding steady and flexed. Nobody in the room dared move, probably because of the rather intimidating proposition that the tail presented. Ruby was not okay with sharing a planet, let a lone a _classroom_ with this villain. But he wasn't doing anything evil at the moment, and that made her uneasy. Just how quickly could that change?

"Fascinating!" came a shout from just over her shoulder, startling her. She spun to see Bart standing up, his hands firmly planted on the table. "You possess an invertebrate tail, yet you yourself are a vertebrate!"

He left his seat and damn near teleported down to the stage, taking up a place next to the scorpion-man, who actually stepped _back_ half a step. That never happened before.

"Y-yeah, that's right." He stuttered for a moment, straightening up. Bart's uniform made him look like he'd been hit by about four buses on his way to class, and that was clearly irritating the unusually straight-ironed Tyrian. "Did you have questions about it?"

"Many! First of, are you poisonous?"

Tyrian chuckled.

"No, I am not." The class seemed to relax as one. They were all thinking it. "I am _venomous._ Poison is a material that is either consumed through digestion or absorbed through the skin."

Everyone tensed up as one. Ruby wanted her axe, and she wanted it _now._ How could any sane person willingly admit that?!

"Whereas venom is injected into the blood stream either by teeth or needle-like appendages, like my tail for instance. And no, I have no intention of doing anything like that to anyone in this room."

Ruby looked over at Qrow.

 _He better fucking not._

She shivered, remembering. Thanks to a bulletproof liver, he'd survived their encounter. Ruby just didn't want there to _be_ an encounter.

"But how is it that you possess a shelled tail and a body of flesh?"

"It just happens. It, like every other mammal, is a continuation of my spine. There's a point where the collagen becomes a chitin-like material that you see here as my tail..." he flexed the tail, bringing it down to Bart's face. No one in their right mind would be okay with a seven-foot-long venomous spike of death being shoved in their face, but Bart wasn't exactly of right mind. "Have a look. It's safe."

"How is it you control your ability?"

"It's a muscle reaction." he said, as if having his tail examined by a caffeine-stoned student orbit him was perfectly normal. "Like the same way you don't go around just punching people in the face, you have to use thought and muscle reactions to do that. And generally, you have to be angry."

 _Note to self, do not anger him._

"And how is it that you are not poisoned by your own supply then?"

"My, you're full of questions, aren't you?"

"My apologies, professor, I find the whole concept of animalistic traits fused with human DNA truly fascinating!"

"It's true, prof," came the interjection from Bart's own faunus roommate. "He does nothing but ask questions."

Tyrian smiled. "Oh, he does, does he? Well, Mr. Oobleck, if you return to your seat, we can get in depth into the history of the Faunus if you're so interested."

"But of course!" he dashed back to his seat, creating a blur of green and messy hair.

Tyrian paused for a moment, waiting for the room to settle again.

"Anyone else want to make a scene? We still have seventy minutes left, and I'm liking this year more than the last one by a lot so far. No one?"

Ruby never took her eyes off him in case he decided to do something drastic.

"Okay, I think we'll get started. Right, lesson one... how to teach a class after forgetting your lesson plan."

Everyone chuckled again.

/.../

"Mere, you alright?"

"No, I'm not _fucking_ alright, Qrow!"

She yelled, slamming her hand into a locker and leaving a foot-wide dent. Even Raven looked a little afraid of her. Ruby scoffed. It wasn't her she should be afraid of, but rather the _monster_ they had just shared a room with for an hour and a half.

"Calm down, Summer. Was there something wrong with that class?"

 _The teacher!_

"No, it's just..." she grunted and hit the locker again with an angry glare. They couldn't understand. "UGH, fuck!"

Her knuckles were bleeding again, and her wrist had started to hurt again. The break from the other morning had only _just_ healed.

"I'm so angry."

"We can see that." Tai tried to be comforting. "Can you tell us why? So we can help?"

There was nothing they could do. Even twenty years in the future nothing could be done. There was no stopping the inevitable. She shook her head.

"No. No, I'm done. Fuck this."

She stormed off.

"Summer!" Raven called after.

" _NOPE."_

She rushed through the hallways, stomping her way through the crowds in the interim between classes. One student actually fell over, but she didn't stop for them. She had a location in mind, and no one was stopping her today.

By the time she'd reached his office, she'd knocked over two more people and and entire vending machine, much to the joy of a group of obvious stoners who immediately swarmed it and cleaned it out. She mashed her fist against the large door.

" _OZPIN!"_ she screamed, hammering the door. " _Open the fucking door!"_

After a moment, he did. Looking confused. Ruby pushed into the office, starting on him immediately.

"Oh, don't you give me that fucking incredulous look, you bastard, you tell me right _fucking now_ why that psychopath is working here?!"

He seemed stunned. She continued.

"Don't you _dare_ give me the 'I can see all timelines at once' bullshit and still hire him to teach _children!_ That is the most unprofessional and _dangerous_ thing I've ever seen!"

"Have you considered lowering your voice-"

"No! Fuck you! That man, no, that _thing_ nearly killed everyone I loved! Nora, Ren! Uncle _Qrow!_ Jaune! All of my friends were almost wiped out by that _one_ psychopath and you have the audacity to hire him as a teacher? How _dare_ you?!"

He sat down behind his desk, leaving her standing there with her chest heaving and tears streaming down her face. He sipped his coffee slowly. Ruby squinted at him like he was an idiot. Well, in her opinion he _was._

"I never lied to you, Miss Rose."

"Bull _shit!"_

"I can indeed see every timeline at the same time, and I understand how you might feel about this situation. But it is never going to be as simple as you think it should be."

"Then _SIMPLIFY IT!"_

He slapped the desk with his cane, cracking the thick walnut top in two. Ruby jumped back, recoiling into herself.

"Behave."

"Y-yes, sir."

"I hired that man based on his experience and his teaching skills, because he will become a staple of this institution for the next eleven years, Miss Rose."

"But-"

"I already know of his dark future. That is not something we can change, unfortunately."

"But what about..."

"His future is cursed, child. That is an unavoidable occurrence. Would you prefer instead I let him go, watch him move quietly away to Anima, only for him to become corrupted there instead considerably sooner? He's a substantially better fighter than anyone else who works here, and more capable of defending this school and it's students than even I."

Ruby shivered.

"She goes for the strong ones first. And they are the first to be turned on us. Her virus works faster on those who are stronger. It feeds on power. Like a leech."

"Who?"

"You know who I'm referring to, Miss Rose. Don't play dumb."

She nodded. She didn't want to think about it.

"And with Mr. Callows in my employ, I can protect him longer than you know, Miss Rose. He is safe here. And you are safer because of it."

"But he's going to get corrupted. What then?"

"You would suggest I just start killing everyone who gets corrupted by her, Ruby? That's a substantial list of people. Would you like me to start with someone important to you first? Dear Raven, perhaps?"

She jumped. " _What?_ "

"You heard what I said. Are you going to put her in danger like that? Or are you going to accept the fact that this is the path of least resistance?"

"How many other bad people are you hiding from me here? Lionheart? Hazel? Who else?"

He looked up at her through the tops of his glasses. The whole room seemed to simmer under his glare, making her regret just about every sound that had come out of her mouth ever. He turned his head to the side, and called out through the open side door.

"Sweetheart, come in here."

Ruby watched the doorway. After a beat, a small child came skipping through it.

"Yes, Uncle Oscar?"

This small child had short, fluffy black hair done up in tiny pigtails out the back of her head. The little red and black dress was, and there was no other word for it, adorable. When she got to where Oz was sitting, he very easily hoisted her up onto his knee.

"Do you know who this is, Ruby?"

She shook her head. The child was _kinda_ familiar, but not really. Looked a little like what she assumed Blake looked like at four or five, just without the kitty ears.

"Do you mind, sweetie?" he asked, tugging lightly on her hair elastics. When the child agreed, Ozpin pulled them all the way off. The black hair fell around the girl's head like two curtains of onyx, concealing the child's left eye.

It all came flooding back. Ruby tripped as she jumped back, landing on her back.

"Tell me, which one of your friends was killed during the attacks?"

She paused to think. For a brief moment, it flashed through her vision before fading away. Like she was wrong about what she thought. But then just as quickly as that idea passed through her head, it was gone. She shook her head, grasping at the sides of her skull.

"N-no one? But... h...what about..."

"Your dear friend Pyrrha, how was she when you left?"

No. It wasn't true!

"J-just fine..."

He smiled. An _evil,_ devilish smile.

"Good. And your uncle. In your time. How alive is he?"

"Completely?"

"Then I've done all I can for now."

"You altered the timeline. You changed it..."

"I only did what was necessary. Bad things will still inevitablely happen, but this is a tragedy I'm preventing, Miss Rose." He gestured to the girl sat up on his knee. "She was abandoned when her village burned down when she was just an infant. I saved this poor bundle of tears myself. I told myself I wouldn't intervene because of what she was to become, but I couldn't just leave her. Would you have? Knowing what I know? Knowing that twenty-five years later she'd kill you and burn your school to the ground?"

It wasn't possible. Ruby wanted to throw up again.

"I'm going to make sure she doesn't participate in that lifestyle, or get corrupted by her. You start them as children, and she can't take them. If only I could have done that with Mr. Callows as well. Okay, thank you Cindy, you can go back to playing now."

The little girl smiled and jumped down from his knee and skipped away, trying her very hardest to whistle as she did. How was it humanly possible for that adorable little child to be the terrorist mastermind behind the attacks on Beacon? She convulsed, trying to hold her breakfast and her sorrow in. They sat for a moment in silence.

"Have a look at this." he opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a little vial. "Do you know what this is?"

The vial hit the desk. Ruby sat up and looked at it. It contained a convulsing black liquid, suspended in motion by a glowing grey light. It was like a tiny, black lava lamp that was both revolting and intriguing all at once. The closer she got, the more the fluid moved. It was almost enchanting.

"N-no..."

"This is the virus. Or, a small part of it. It's what corrupts people. What changes them."

"This is a _Grimm?!"_ She almost didn't believe it. He nodded.

"Yes. A parasite. This small amount of Grimm could infect and turn the whole school over to her will. I see that it has a particular attraction to you, Miss Rose."

The liquid seemed to be trying to push itself through the glass of the vial and towards her. She flinched.

"What's holding it in?"

"Seventeen thousand tonnes of concentrated gravity dust, Enough to rip a small hole in space-time, or contain a potentially lethal virus."

"And you keep it in your desk?!"

"The contents of the vault are too valuable to have this down there with it."

"Right. The relic."

"Hush now. Do you know why it's so attracted to you? And not to me?"

She shook her head.

"Because it thinks you are the most powerful one here. The one most corruptible. If Mr. Callows was in this room, I believe it would gain the strength to break free and turn him against us."

The little vial fell over on it's own. Ruby yelped and jumped back.

"I can protect everyone from this. For as long as I can. I'm afraid that is all I can do. Postpone the inevitable. Is that clear?"

"Y-"

"Be honest. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir."

He smiled.

"Good. And if you ever come in my office like that again, I'm putting you on babysitting duty."

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."

"Now go to class. Or I will mark you as absent."

"Yes, sir."

She turned and solemnly made her way back out the door and into the now-empty hallway. She sniffled, wiping her nose on the back of her sleeve. What bullshit. She trudged away from the office, dragging her boots along the long hallway towards the lecture halls. She stopped halfway down, leaning against one of the large ceiling-high windows.

"...Pyrrha _died?"_

She wondered who else might have suffered the same fate had he not rescued that little girl. Come to think of it, why had she reacted so adversely to the sudden change of hairstyle? She tried not to throw up as a half-image of the villain who had attacked the school melded with the half-image of one of the senior TAs who used to sub for Glynda's class. The one they all liked.

"He messed with it all..."

She punched the wall as hard as she could. Once again, her wrist exploded in a haze of fire and pain. Tears rushed to her face against all her wishes, as the again-broken bones seared like someone was roasting them on a firepit. She yelled, falling backwards to the floor. The sound of heavy footfalls came around the corner, getting progressively louder. She lay back and clutched her wrist, her head falling on the soft upper thigh of Taiyang as he had slid on his knees to catch her.

"Summer, what the hell's goin' on?" he asked, the nerves in his voice ever present. "What did you do?!"

She clutched her wrist limply as the pain started to subside. She shook her head, letting her hair fall into it to hide her sullen face.

"It's all ruined..."

"What is?" Qrow asked. "Your wrist? It'll heal, don't even worry about that."

"Is this about Mr. Callows?" Raven kneeled next to her.

"Rae, don't be ridiculous, look." he neck-gestured to the door they were next to. "This is the headmaster's office."

"Oh shit, did you get expelled or something?"

Ruby wanted to cry. Well, more than she already was. She wanted to curl up and sob her lungs out until she stopped breathing, but that was unbecoming of a leader. Unbecoming of the name of Summer Rose.

"No..." she tried. "It's just all fucky now."

"What is?"

"It's not important."

"Apparently important enough to break your wrist before Combat Training on the first day of class, Mere."

She sighed with a depressed smile, and leaned her head back into Tai's leg. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Try me. I'm sure it's not so bad."

Yeah, because _I'm a time-travelling turbo-slut_ is something she could just say out loud.

"Do you believe in destiny, Raven?"

"That's a dumb question. Of course not. No such thing, you make life however you want it to be."

 _Shut up, you goddamn home-wrecker._

"But what if it was a thing? And what of you could find out how to change it?"

"I dunno, I feel like I change my destiny every morning when I decide to wear back or lace, dude. It's not hard."

"That's not what... you know what, nevermind. It's nothing I could ever explain to any of you."

"...and _this_ is why you ran off in this savage rage, Mere?"

She sighed. "Yeah... I'm sorry, guys."

"What happened in there, Summer?" Tai's honest sky-blue gaze nearly broke her. "I just want to know so I can help."

As was the norm now, Ruby had something prepared. "I get to miss a funeral."

"Excuse me?"

"A friend of mine. Was supposed to die on a mission a little while ago. But she survived. She survived a goddamn arrow in the heart."

"Fucking _how?"_ Raven clearly didn't believe her.

"Destiny, Rae. Like I said. It was changed. For her. She gets to come home to her boyfriend and her family, and everything's alright. Even the goddamn bad guy gets a pass."

"How the fuck does attempted murder get a pass?" She was asking all the right questions. "And if you say 'destiny', I'm gonna break your other wrist. Why are you pissed that your friend is alive?"

"I don't know, Rae, I'm sorry. I had a bad reaction to some news." She sniffled. "I'm a bad person."

The woman's hand came out to rather uncharacteristically brush the hair delicately out of her eyes. "No you're not. You're just emotive. Sensitive. I forgive you for Initiation, alright?"

Ruby smirked and sniffed back some tears. "Thanks, Rae. I'm sorry for running off. I won't do it again."

And then Raven smiled down at her. Oh no, was she becoming friends with Raven? Wouldn't that mess up the- _ah, screw it, this is fine._

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, combat class is up next. If you want, you can beat up that Winchester boy. You seemed to have a sneer on him the whole time he was talking. Would that help?"

She snickered. "Yeah, maybe."

Raven and Tai helped her to her feet as she cradled her broken wrist, which had begun the painful process of healing itself.

"C'mon," Raven said, holding her upright by her waist. Ruby tried not to blush. And failed. "Destiny awaits."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Remind me again why we're here?" Raven asked, pulling a box of cereal off the shelf.

Ruby rubbed her nose and flipped her list over.

"What was the alternative."

"Uh, going to class, obviously. It's Tuesday."

"Yeah, I know. What class are you missing?"

Raven put the box back and grabbed another, flipping it to look at the nutritional information.

"Philosophy."

"So you're not missing anything. Filler course. Why are you reading those so carefully?"

Raven frowned in her direction.

"I'm watching my cholesterol. And we left my brother and Tai back in class. Where we should be too."

"Nah, it's fine. Why don't you think about it, if you're so suddenly into thinking about stuff."

"Excuse me?"

"That's what philosophy is. Thinking about stuff and getting marked for it."

She crossed her arms and dropped the box of Frosted Bran into the shopping cart.

"Sounds stupid."

"It's pretty stupid. But it's 'required' for our diploma at the end so you gotta suffer it now."

"So why aren't we back in class, then. If it's _so_ important."

"Because I don't wanna do it. And _we_ haven't had any girl time to hang out."

Raven gave her The LookTM and shook her hair out.

"Why the hell would you want to have girl time with me? You don't even like me."

"On the contrary, my dear." Ruby chuckled, pulling a box of granola bars down and into her cart. "I like you just fine. I don't know why you'd think that."

"Uh, a week of situational evidence? And you attacked me with an axe?"

"Look, I'm still sorry about that, I thought you were drawing on me and I panicked. Do we need cheese?"

"Qrow's lactose intolerant. Sure, buy lots of cheese. And I feel like you don't actually like me. I don't know what I did to you that made you this way."

Ruby sighed, rubbing her eyes. She didn't want to run through this malarkey of an explanation again. Raven was going to leave her daughter. Someone who wasn't even conceived yet, so why did it bother her so much? Maybe Raven was right. She _was_ antagonizing her and it was unfair to her and made for an unpleasant working relationship.

"It's nothing, I'm sorry." She waved her hand to dismiss the thoughts. "I don't hate you, Rae. I want us to be able to like one another. I _want_ to like you. You haven't done anything to me personally to make me dislike you. I'm being presumptuous and I shouldn't. It's... cruel."

The tall woman pondered this for a moment, frowning and picking a bag of sliced bread off the shelf.

"Oh. It's okay, I guess."

Ruby reached over and tentatively put her hand on Raven's shoulder. She didn't flinch away immediately, so Ruby felt confident she was getting at least _some_ where with the bandit-woman.

"I want us to be friends, Rae."

"I know. I'll try to be less angry, Mere."

Ruby chuckled. "Don't try and be someone you're not. And don't call me 'Mere'."

"Wha- why not?! Qrow calls you that! Why can't I?"

"Taste preference. Pick something else. Something unique." Ruby added two cartons of milk to the basket.

"What do you mean unique?"

"I dunno, that's for you to decide. Qrow calls me Mere, Tai calls me Kiddo, you have to pick something else. Think of it as our first step in this relationship."

"The hell you mean 'relationship'? Are we a thing now? Because I didn't agree to that."

Ruby's hand smacked loudly against her nose. Raven crossed her arms and seemed to close up into herself.

"You _know_ what I mean."

"Oh I do, do I."

"Just pick a goddamn nickname, Rae."

"How about 'idiot' since you won't shut up?"

Ruby threw a box of soup broth at her. Raven laughed and easily caught the box of soup, tossing it back and landing it right in the basket, knocking over the collection of spices that lined the bottom of the red plastic basket.

"Hey, good shot."

"I _am_ a Huntress, Sunshine."

"Oh, hell nah."

"C'mon, you said to come up with one, I was strapped for time!"

Ruby fluttered her hand in Raven's face as she brushed past, aiming for the next aisle. "You can do better than that. Do we want ice cream?"

"I _just_ told you my brother's lactose intolerant. Yes, we want lots of ice cream."

They raided the freezer at the back of the store, grabbing five full tubs of the chocolatiest, fudgiest carameliest ice cream they had on hand. It was so much that Ruby had forced her associate to carry all the vegetables and bread by hand so they had room for all the tubs. Some of the other patrons in the frozen foods aisle gave them some funny looks as they stacked up with ice cream. What did they know. Ice cream was the _shit._

"How are we paying for this?"

"My credit card's in my back pocket." she said, swinging her hips and trying to look down at said pocket without dropping any of the tubs.

"Wha- how do you have a credit card?" Raven asked, giving her a confused look. "You're only seventeen!"

"Yeah, and you can get one if a parent or legal guardian signs the forms, and since Ozpin's technically my legal guardian, I have one."

"Oh. Who's Ozpin?"

"Headmaster Pine. His name is Oscar Pine, and I've... taken to shortening it to Ozpin."

"His first name is _Oscar?"_

"Yeah, pretty lame, right?"

"God, _so_ lame. Do you want me to grab your wallet?"

"If you can do it without copping a feel." Ruby said with a wink. Raven may have rolled her eyes, but there was a strong hint of a smile on her face.

The woman's muscular hands went in for the kill, it seemed, as they went right for the roundest part of her posterior and dove into her pocket. Almost immediately, she his a snag.

"Holy hell, these are tight."

"Uh, yeah."

"How did you even get this _in_ here?"

"I have slender fingers."

"Clearly."

The fancy new skinny jeans, while stylish as hell and a drastic difference from the collection of dresses and skirts she normally kept, were also incredibly tight and not at all user friendly. Ruby was slowly starting to learn that women's clothing may not have been designed for actual normal-sized girls. Her wider-set hips and muscular one-hundred-squats-a-day legs didn't fit in a normal size of pants, so pretty much everything was skinny jeans to her. But _actual_ skinny jeans...

" _There_ we go." she said, finally pulling the wallet free. "What's wrong with carrying a purse, Sunshine?"

"You don't carry one. And call me that again and I'm shoving my boot where the sun _don't_ shine."

"Alright, jeez. Here's your stupid wallet. I ain't doing that again."

"What, calling me Sunshine or touching my butt?"

"Yes."

"You come up with a better nickname yet?"

Raven flipped the credit card over and read the front of it.

"Your middle name is Eloise?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"How about Lou?"

Ruby glared at her.

"How about Sunshine."

They both shared a good-hearted chuckle as they made it over to the checkout counter. The young-looking girl behind the register seemed nonplussed by the huge purchase of candy and snacks, making a cheeky comment about a party later that Ruby played along with. After racking up a rather substantial seventy-lien bill and her card going through with no issues, they managed to squeeze all of the perishables into the slightly-undersized cooler she'd brought along. And back to shopping they went.

/.../

"What else do we need today?"

Ruby sniffled, checking her scribbled list. Raven was enjoying the sundae she'd been given for lunch. Ruby'd been feeling generous back at that bakery after trying the world's greatest sourdough bread. She couldn't believe she'd gone this long without going to this one little bakery in downtown. It was on the main drag and everything, and they sold ice cream! She remembered it existing back in the future, but always just bypassing it for the From Soup 'Till Soup on the corner.

"Uh, few drugstore items, but I figure we can go there last. Gotta stop at the bank, first."

Raven fidgeted in her seat. They were almost sitting close enough together that their thighs rubbed. Almost.

"Uh, do we _have_ to go the bank?"

"Why, what's the matter?" Ruby asked, guiding the tiny green pickup that Ozpin had loaned her into the next parking lot.

"Well, the last time I went to one wasn't under the nicest of circumstances."

"What are you talking about?"

"I used to be a part of a bandit tribe, remember?"

"And how does that- _oh."_ She said, the thought coming together in her head.

"Yeah. We wore disguises, so I don't think I'll be recognized, but still."

Ruby pulled up in front of the red brick facade in front of the bank. The giant gold letters spelling out _Vale Regional Depository_ shone down at them.

"When was this?"

"Ten, eleven years ago?"

"When you were six."

"Yeah?"

Ruby shut the engine off and sent a glance over to her companion. "You robbed a bank when you were six."

"I was _there,_ I didn't point a gun at anyone or anything. But I was there and I was part of it."

"Your tribe brought a six-year-old to rob a bank?!"

Ruby realized this was not something to be yelling about _in front_ of a bank. Raven seemed embarrassed. Mortified, really.

"We were used as bait. Qrow and I went in 'looking for stamps' for our 'parents' so that we could distract the tellers so the tribe could get in position."

Ruby's mouth fell open.

"I can't believe this."

"I told you, I left that life behind. I'm not proud of what we did. We did what was necessary to survive. No one was hurt."

"That is _evil._ "

"Yeah."

They sat for a moment. Ruby realized she never really had taken the time to _understand_ what it meant to be a bandit. And how, very possibly, it was a bad thing. How her very own uncle Qrow could have possibly been considered a 'bad guy'. An antagonist to some of the people in Vale and the surrounding countries. She knew _obviously_ that Raven might have done these things, but not Qrow. Never the booze hound that loved to play video games and laze around. But he had to have come from somewhere. She sniffled.

"I'm sorry. It's unfair that I said that."

"No, you're right. I don't like what I was. I'm here at this school because I want to change that."

"You do?"

"I'm here for Qrow, and I'm here for me."

"Okay. That's a good state of mind I think." Ruby clapped her on the shoulder. Raven jumped at the touch, but softened soon after.

"I don't want to be bad anymore."

Ruby mused, smiling and rubbing the woman's brawny shoulder. "That's not what this sweet leather jacket says."

A smile crept onto her face. "Hey, I like this jacket."

"Bad to the bone."

"Oh, shut up."

"You're not at risk of robbing any banks in the near future, right?"

"No, Summer. I'm not going to be robbing any banks."

"Good. Then let's go inside."

Bank robbery, train robbery, stagecoach robbery, what _hadn't_ this woman been a part of. Ruby have her a wary look as they got out of the truck and approached the building. She seemed to have a certain air of remorse about her, so perhaps she was being presumptuous. Raven, although in her mind was _still the bad guy,_ seemed to really not want to _be_ the bad guy anymore. This was certainly good for her sister, for one thing, as it increased the chances of her conception, but it was also good for the general well being of the people of Vale.

Raven was a strong Huntress, and an even stronger bandit. The longer she could be kept on the good-guy leash, the better. This idea still felt a little cruel on her part, though. Ruby didn't want to have to feel like her handler all the time, nor did she want to prove that she needed one. Raven certainly seemed to be responding positively to her, and they were making decent headway into their friendship. If the tall, dark and mysterious woman could be turned, it would be her best option to do so.

Ruby pushed the large glass door open, being hit with a wave of cool, air-conditioned wind as she did so, messing her already poorly-brushed hair even more. She spun on the spot, clicking the little key fob to lock the truck, before finding herself at the back of a very long lineup of people.

"Oh, damn. We might be here a while."

Raven tutted, tucking in behind her. "Oh, really? Ah, I wish we had brought snacks."

"There's ice cream in the truck."

"Don't have a spoon, and I was hoping for more like, chips or something."

"Oh, wait," Ruby dug into the inside pocket of her sweater. "Want some gum? It's minty."

"Yeah, sure." Ruby squeezed out a piece into her hand. "Thanks."

Ruby popped one out for herself as well, shifting from side to side in her new sneakers. They weren't quite worn in yet and were still a little uncomfortable. They'd be good after today's training. After a little bit of hard running. Probably after Raven.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

Ruby jumped at the sudden question, kinda lost in her own world. "Uh, yeah. Sure."

"Why did the headmaster give you his truck?"

She blinked a few times, trying to process the question. "Oh, sorry, uh it's not _his_ truck, it's the school's. Groundskeeper's vehicle. Headmaster Pine and I have an agreement of sorts."

"What kind of dirt do you have on him, then?"

She laughed, sighing. "Uh, nothing important. We're actually here so I can get a blank check so he can start paying me."

"What the hell for?"

"He offered to hire me."

There was The LookTM again. "To do what? Be a groundskeeper?"

Ruby brushed off the question again. "No, no. I work in the research lab. It's minimum wage, but I said I'd take it anyways."

"Can I get a job?"

"How much do you know about, uh, particle physics?"

Raven shrunk a little. "Not very much."

"Well, you can still get a job at the school, and I suggest you do. Easy income."

"Doing what, though?"

"I dunno. Library, kitchens, astronomy lab. What are you good at?"

"Uh, fighting Grimm."

Ruby poked her in the shoulder, but only hard enough to make a point. "Well, there you go. I'm sure the sports facility needs some hired hands. Go work the Rec room or something. Become a TA for the combat classes."

"And they'd pay me for this?"

"Yeah, of course. There's no volunteer work here on campus. They're good like that."

"Well, how would I get paid, then? Cash?"

Ruby sniffled, moving up a step in the line. Something had caught her eye, but had gone away just as quickly. She ignored it.

"No, direct deposit. Who do you bank with, we can go there and pick up a blank check for you after this."

Raven rubbed her arm. "Uh, no one."

"What do you mean 'no one'?"

"I don't have a bank account. Or a debit card."

Ruby turned, trying out The LookTM for herself.

"But you _do_ have money, right?"

"Yeah, all in cash, though. Back in the room."

"I hope none of it is... pilfered. I don't want that in my dorm, thanks."

"No, I had a job before Beacon. Paid cash, though."

"What, as a mercenary?"

"Uh, yeah."

She nearly choked on her gum. She coughed. "Sorry, wasn't expecting that direct of an answer."

"Not proud of it. We did good stuff, sometimes. Helped supply caravans and thinned out Grimm."

"That's definitely good. Don't tell me about any of the bad, I'm liking the good picture you're painting."

"Sorry."

They moved up a little further. There was a faint ringing in the air, and Ruby was trying her best to ignore it. It sounded like the Tinnitus she would get at the firing range, but much quieter and further away. She scratched her ear to try and silence it, to no avail.

"Nah, it's fine." she said, checking her watch. "Actually, can I ask _you_ something? I promise it has nothing to do with your past."

"Alright, shoot."

"Do you find anyone at the school attractive?"

The brawny woman coughed, nearly choking on _her_ gum.

"W-why do you feel the need to keep asking me that?!"

Ruby turned, dramatically laying her back against Rae's chest and placing the back of her hand to her forehead. She sighed, pushing her weight into the more than comfortable chest and letting her knees knock together for effect.

"Because the fate of the world demands I know!"

Raven pushed her off, but not without a snide grin. "I doubt it does."

"More than you know."

"Well I'm not exactly at the farmer's market of choice, here. You've backed me into a corner every time you've asked me that question."

"Well, let's review your options, shall we?"

"Rather we didn't."

"Theeeeere's me, to start with, but I'm not certain you swing that way." she said, garnering a punch in the arm.

"I don't think so."

"Alcohol and a good set of lingerie might change that."

A smack on the back of the head came next.

"Summer, we're in public."

"I'm just sayin'. Maybe you need to loosen up."

"We'll say soft pass on you."

As bad as Raven still was in her mind, the idea of blatantly flirting with her to try and gain some kind of even footing between them was grating on her conscience. Not that her lesser instincts were telling her to stop, of course. Raven was still a very attractive woman. And Ruby was still young and impressionable.

"Okay, barring me, and Qrow for obvious, gross reasons..."

The both shivered.

"...Who else might you find appealing?"

"Well, I don't really see a lot of choice."

"There's... Bart, across the hall from us."

"The stoner?"

"Okay, he's not-" actually caffeine technically _is_ a drug. "Alright, scratch that, not him. Uh, Keiv Talbot from mechanisms class?"

"I wasn't even aware he existed."

"Raven, Keiv sits across from you. He has _antlers._ How could you possibly not."

"Look, I'm not really looking for possible mates, now am I?"

"What was that about 'in public'?"

"Shut up."

Ruby turned her head, suddenly catching something in her peripheral vision. She couldn't describe it. It felt like she could _see_ the air for a brief moment. Raven peered around her shoulder.

"See something, boy?"

"No, no. I just..." she tried to focus. "Did.. you see something off there?"

"Where?"

Ruby shook out her hair. It was nothing. Must have been. She found her cheery smile again.

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it. Anyway, tell me about your type, then. If you're so picky."

"I don't think I have one."

"What about someone... tall?"

"I mean, probably more so."

"A little rough and tumble?"

"Yeah, I guess." she said, blowing a bubble with her gum.

"Authoritative but friendly?"

"Uh..."

"Blonde as the sun?"

Raven's cheeks darkened. "So, what if I do?"

"Honey, that's called _having a type._ And I think I have just the one for you."

She received a glare. "And who would that be?"

"Glynda."

"Ha!" she laughed, her mouth falling open. Not the response she was expecting, having tensed up in anticipation of another smacking. Of course she didn't want to be disciplined by the tough woman. No, not at all.

"Not a fan?"

"No, I just didn't realize that I'd have to remind you that I'm not gay? And I thought you were into her."

Ruby waved the accusation off. "Nah, that was just a phase." she lied. "Alright, alternatively, how about Taiyang?"

Rae's shoulder's fell dramatically, her eyes rolling so far back they might have disconnected if not for the nerves that attached them to her brain.

"Why do you _always_ go back to him?"

"Because he's the right choice, Rae. You _will_ end up with him, and you _will_ enjoy it."

"You've gotta be kidding me."

"Don't tell me you haven't considered it."

"Of course I have, but that's not my problem."

"What could possibly be the problem? You're both gorgeous, athletic, tough as nails, he's got an unbelievably soft side, something you _need_ in your life-"

She was silenced by a hand raised. "Look, that's all fine, and yes, he is someone I'm... attracted to, but-"

"But what?"

She rubbed her arm, shrinking a little.

"I'm not right for someone so nice."

"I disagree. Strongly."

"Why, though?"

"He has the hots for you." she lied. Well, not so much lied as made a serious presumption. She hadn't the chance to talk to Tai yet about this subject material. But he was a hot-blooded Valean male, and she was... well, a girl. And so far, Tai's interests included people who were girls. Pretty much his only criteria. Nobody was safe from that award-winning smile, not even Ruby, admitting to liking the attention.

Raven darkened. "R-really?"

"Yeah, of course. I'll help you out if you-"

A sudden shiver flashed through her, causing her to forget where she was going with that. Her attention was drawn across the room to a man standing at the ATM, his back to the crowd.

"If I what, Sunshine?"

Nothing seemed off about this man at first glance. Respectable jacket, ironed pants, fancy shoes, a relaxed stance. But at the same time, _everything_ was off about him. A business man, visiting a bank in the middle of the day on a Tuesday, with no briefcase and not even a nice hat. And the glances he kept making over his shoulder...

 _Wait..._

There was something wrong with the air. She couldn't describe it. There seemed to be a disturbance in the air around this man, like a dark wavy line that persisted around the man's hips. She followed this imaginary line across the far wall, where it surrounded another man. Similarly dressed, she noticed. Sitting in a chair by the finance offices, reading the newspaper. Nothing out of the ordinary, of course.

"Summer?"

"Can you see the..."

The ethereal line continued over towards them. It flowed across the floor, towards the queue of people waiting for the tellers. A third, well dressed gentleman matching the style of the first two was in line a few people ahead of the two of them. Similar build, similar clothing, similar way of body position. She shivered again. She watched the man in line. His eyes wandered over to the man sitting in the chairs. And then theirs met, holding for a second.

"Uh oh."

Rae leaned over her shoulder. "What's up?"

After a second look, that newspaper was from the previous day. And since it was the Financial Times, all of the information contained within would now be out of date. So what would be the point of even having it, let alone _studying_ it. And following the dark, pulsating presence back over to the first man, she was now concerned that he was spending a little _too_ much time at that machine. Most people took as little time as possible to make withdrawals from those silly green machines, with their guillotine-like cash dispensers and unnerving voice commands. Almost like he was... waiting.

"Uh, Rae?" she whispered. The overall lull of noise in the room was enough to cover up her words so only the intended recipient could hear her. "We might have a problem."

"What's that?"

She gestured towards the man in the chair. "Do you... see something wrong with that guy over there?"

"N-no, should I? You're worrying me."

"Day old newspaper, freshly ironed suit on a Tuesday... doesn't he seem kinda... staged?"

"Uh, maybe? I don't really- oh _FUCK!"_

Before Ruby had a second to even react to this, Raven planted her hand directly into her sternum and pulled backwards. The back scene accelerated away from her with great force. The last thing she saw before being driven behind the low welcome counter was the man in the line in front of them pulling something out of his coat and raising it into the air. The both crashed to the ground, with Raven falling on top of her.

 _ **BANG**_

"ALRIGHT, EVERYONE ON THE GROUND!"

Her fears were being realized. Everyone in the bank started to scream, and the sounds of thirty-odd people hitting the hard tile rang out, jewellery and coat buttons clattering to the ground.

"Nobody make any movements and you can go home to your families!"

A goddamn robbery. This was just the fucking worse. They scrambled into a sitting position, their backs to the cheap particle board counter. Not that it wouldn't do any good against _any_ kind of small arms. They'd be swiss-cheesed in seconds.

" _Fuck!"_ Rae shout-whispered. "The fuck do we do, Summer?"

"I don't fucking know, Raven! What do you expect me to say! I wasn't expecting to be robbed today!"

Her hand shot up to her jacket, to the comfortable spot where her sidearm normal sat under her right arm. It wasn't there. It wouldn't be there for another seventeen years.

"Goddamn it. We have no weapons and-" the man from the ATM passed above, walking to the front doors. "No means of escape. I don't even have my phone to call the cops."

"Wha- where's your goddamn phone?!"

Ruby sighed, her heart racing. The man from the ATM was packing _serious_ heat, in the form of a twelve-gauge shotgun slung around his shoulders. From where she was sitting , she could see out the glass front doors and into the angled parking just in front of the back between the robber's legs.

"In the truck..."

" _Fuck!"_

" _YOU"_ the leader yelled stomping away towards the tellers. " _Bring me to the vault!"_

"Summer, we have to do something."

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"

She stuck her head over the edge of the desk so she could peek around. The two men near the front were armed with compact submachine guns, with tear gas canisters tied around their waists. Damn, these guys were serious.

"I have an idea. Don't follow me until I say so."

"Summer, wai-"

She jumped the edge of the table and back into the middle of the room. She did the first thing that came to mind; attack the biggest thing in the room first. The man closest to her was carrying a SCAC rifle, a sub-compact anti-material carbine capable of ripping most kevlar body armour to pieces in moments. A weapon favoured by the Vacual special forces and street thugs in Mistral as the gun laws were fairly lax there, allowing for such powerful guns to be commercially available.

"Hey, you!" the man yelled. She ignored him and charged forward.

Even with the collapsible stock folded meaning the weapon was even more unwieldly than usual, he seemed to move pretty quickly and pretty accurately. But she was faster. _A lot_ faster. She let her semblance tremble into her run, the red blur around her vision coming forward as her speed started to exceed human ability. She knew it was wrong. Wrong to let _Ruby Rose_ 's semblance out in public. Here she wasn't supposed to be able to do this. Just a little bit wouldn't hurt. Just enough to save the day. No breaking the sound barrier, no rose petals. She smirked as she closed the last twelve inches between them.

The difference between taking down a Grimm, like a Beowulf or a Goliath or something to that effect is vastly different to taking down a person. A Grimm moves differently, presents a much wider surface area to hit, and possesses zero knowledge of battle tactics and hand-to-hand combat skills. Even with some of the more intelligent ones she'd come across in her career, _none_ had even showed an inkling of the ability to block a shot or have a follow-up ready. Sure, they could dodge hits if they were obvious enough, but most relied on just absorbing as much impact as possible on their armour. They weren't very smart.

Even the lowly Beowulf may have _technically_ been a pack animal, they didn't ever communicate with one another, plan attacks, or work as a team. It was always just a free for all. So when faced with a group of _humans,_ Ruby still wasn't prepared for intelligence. The last time she'd stopped a robbery, on the very first day of school two years ago, the perpetrators had acted like a pack of Beowulves. Blind, dumb, and unprepared. They were also robbing a store frequented by actual Huntsmen using what equated to plastic knives.

 _ **BANG**_

Searing, violent pain shot through her body from her back. Ruby's scream never left her mouth as she slammed dully into the man at the front of the room and crumpled to the ground, sliding across the tile and thudding into the teller's counter.

"I knew she was gonna do that. She was givin' us shifty looks, boss."

"I told you to keep casualties to a minimum."

"One is minimum enough, right? Nobody's gonna be stupid enough to try anything now, _right?!"_

Ruby tried to lift herself up again, but she couldn't. She couldn't do much of anything anymore. The sound in the room was fading. She looked down at the trail of blood she'd dragged across the floor. Her blood. That belonged in her body. She could see Raven at the other end of the room, still standing behind the counter they'd briefly hid behind. She was screaming something.

The sight of one of the other robbers reaching over to grab her and silence her had started to slow down. The sound of her heart slowing it's beats was prevalent in her ears now, sounding out like a solemn countdown. Her vision faded.

Her eyes closed.

Her arms gave out.

And she fell to the floor.

And died.

/.../

.

.

.

.

.

/.../

Her eyes opened almost immediately, her heart racing.

"Huah!" she said, tensing up and grabbing on to Rae's shoulder.

"Woah, geez. What happened to you?"

Ruby looked around. Everything in the bank was normal. Nothing seemed especially different.

"What happened, where am I?"

She turned to Raven, meeting the tall woman's eyes. She recoiled, mildly afraid of her.

"Summer, you just spaced out for like thirty seconds. Are you having a heart attack?"

"What were we just talking about just now?"

"Uh..." she'd flustered Raven out of words, "... You'd asked me if I was attracted to Taiyang, then you spaced out and didn't listen to my answer. Kinda rude."

She didn't listen to this answer either. She patted herself down, front and back, checking for any injuries. There was none.

"I'm alive."

"That's... accurate?"

"Holy shit, I'm alive."

"Are you having and existential crisis in a bank? Do we have time for that? We have to get back to school before fifth period at _least,_ that's Literature class and I kinda like that."

She turned to her and grabbed her by the lapels of her leather coat. "Raven, you have to listen to me." She whispered. "This bank is about to be robbed."

"Pfft, _what_?" she gave her a new variation of The LookTM. "Are you planning on robbing this place? Didn't you _just_ finish lecturing me out there on not stealing things?"

"Raven, shut up. And trust me." She gestured with her eyes. "See that man in front of us? In about a minute, he's going to stick up the place with his accomplices, the guy at the ATM and the guy with the paper."

"Summer, what are you talking about?"

"Jus- fucking- you know what, do you trust me?"

"I guess?" Raven shrugged. Ruby glared daggers into her. "Uh, yes, I trust you."

"This bank is about to be robbed, and we're going to be stuck in the middle of it. These guys are heavily armed with SCAC rifles, combat shotguns, and mini-SMGs. Serious military hardware. They're co-ordinated, they're efficient, and they're not afraid to kill hostages."

Raven lowered her voice all the way. "Do you know these people?" there was malice behind her words. "Are you in on it?"

"Raven, do you trust me? Do you want to stop this and save these innocent people?"

Her face bunched up, her teeth clenched. "I guess I do. But we don't have our gear, or anything."

"I know, I'm acutely aware of that fact." She checked under her arm anyways, still coming up empty. "Look, we have thirty seconds or so before shit gets real. Do you know how to disarm someone holding a SCAC rifle?"

"What? No, why would I know that?"

Ruby winced. "Most of the bandit tribes I used to know all used them. They're cheap, they're robust, and they're made in a communist manufacturing plant in the Eastern Bloc of Anima. But they have a fatal flaw that I know how to exploit."

"What's that?"

"They have a paddle-style magazine release on the left side of the case for quick changes on the same side as the bold handle." She gripped Raven's lapel. "Can you disarm someone if I give you instructions?"

"Yeah, what do I have to do?"

"First, you grab him by the left shoulder with your right hand, then you spin him around so he's facing you. Grab the top of the gun with your left hand just above the magazine well and squeeze your thumb into the steel. The mag will fall to the floor so he can't shoot anymore."

She demonstrated on the top Rae's forearm.

"Then slide your hand towards his wrist without releasing your thumb pressure and you'll snag the charging handle and eject the loaded round. Grab his wrist and twist as hard as you can to your right and he'll be forced to drop it, and then you can spin him the rest of the way around and force him to surrender."

"So spin, grab, squeeze, slide, wrist, twist?"

"That's about it. Can you do it?"

Raven nodded. She was shaking. So was Ruby, if she was honest.

"I can do it. You're sure the gun's in his right hand?"

"Positive."

"I can do it."

"Good. Get in position behind him as quietly as you can, and I'll deal with the other two."

"How do you plan on doing that."

Ruby let out a deep breath and focused on the man at the ATM.

"I'm gonna hit one motherfucker with the other motherfucker."

"Good plan."

"Go, stand behind him. Attack when I spit."

She pushed out of line, and as inconspicuously as possible, made her way across the bank to the ATM machine. Her instincts drove her, making her blend in as much as she could. A soft brush of her hair behind her ear, a light sniffle to indicate an annoyance with the moisture level in the bank. Nobody even took a second glance, not even any of the three men. She lined herself up with this one's back.

He was armed, more so than the other two. His SCAC rifle was chambered in a much more dangerous round than the standard seven-six-two cartridge for sure. Felt more like the bloody and savage and lethally fast five-five-six. And they were hollow points. It took a different kind of asshole to use hollow points on another person. They'd been outlawed for civilian use since the war, and for good reason. A hollow point round had a habit of expanding and turning into shrapnel upon entering a target. Great for taking down a Grimm, horrific otherwise. The internal hemorrhaging alone was enough to ensure a messy and fairly quick death.

With a final huff of preparation, she tapped the man on the shoulder.

"Excuse me, do you have a pen so I can sign a check?"

He turned. The way his body moved she could see the very end of the SCAC's stock under his right arm.

"What?"

She spit her gum out, into his face. He was very briefly flustered, recoiling and bringing his right hand up to protect himself in case of a second piece of gum. But that wasn't his biggest worry. He shouldn't have been looking at her teeth. He should have been looking at her hands. With her right, she reached out and grabbed the man's belt buckle. And with her left, she reached up under his arm and grabbed the rifle's padded grip.

With one swift movement, she lifted her arms and turned, hoisting the man off his feet. He went to yell, but it was too late. All of his weight was now at her mercy, and she used his surprise to her advantage. She coiled her legs and _tossed,_ flinging the man by his belt buckle over behind her and towards the man with the newspaper.

" _Fuck!"_ Was all he managed to get out before colliding with the poor unfortunate soul with the paper. His head hit the brass edge of the low table between the two chairs and his body went limp, sending his mass down to the floor _through_ the final assailant, collapsing them both into a pile on the carpet. Thanks to his neglect to use a sling or a carrier, his body may have flown away, but his gun had stayed in _her_ hand, albeit backwards. With a flick of her wrist, she spun the weapon around and shouldered it, advancing on the two men lying on the floor.

"Stay down!" she yelled. She kept her tone loud but controlled. Her finger rested on the trigger guard, and she desperately tried not to let it twitch downward. It was tempting. Terribly.

She looked up at where Raven had been standing behind the man in line with them. Only Raven was still standing actually, the rifle, still loaded with the magazine in one hand, and her other covered in blood. Ruby looked to the floor, to see the leader of the little group lying in a crumpled heap with two streaks of blood pouring from his nostrils. Ruby let out a single chuckle, lowering the gun.

"What happened to your instructions?!"

"I panicked and punched him in the face!"

"Well, that's good I guess. But now he's unconscious and he can't answer your questions!"

Ruby stepped over to her, her heart racing.

"Man, that was a rush!" the tall woman exclaimed with a bright smile.

Ruby let herself be taken by her adrenaline. "I know, right?! We did something good!"

"I did something good!"

"And I'm so proud of you!"

Her body reacted before she had a chance to stop it. She reached up behind Raven's neck with her hand, and pulled her face down.

And kissed her square on the lips.

They separated after a quick second, still unfortunately connected by the tiniest of strings of saliva. Ruby turned a vibrant red and licked her lips, separating them. She stepped back a few feet, rubbing the back of her head with her free hand and looking away.

"Sorry."

"No, it's fine."

"I didn't mean to-"

"Summer." Raven smiled. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. You're just excited. I am too."

"Sorry."

"Hey, you're a better kisser than I thought you'd be."

"Sorry."

"And you have my lispick on your lips now."

" _Sorry!"_

Raven laughed.

"Don't even worry about it. You're good. I'm not mad at you, I have more lipstick in my dresser."

There was a stirring under the pile of chair and unconscious man. Both Raven and her tensed and shouldered the rifles, aiming them down at the two men on the floor.

"Don't move!" they yelled in unison. Ruby dashed forward to the pile and put her foot on the back of the unconscious man and pushed down. The man with the paper was still awake at the bottom of the pile. She forced aside the other man's torso so she could see the man's face. He glared up at her. Before he had a chance to speak, his eyes crossed to look at the gun barrel pressed into his forehead.

"I dare you." she said, shivering. "Look, I don't care who you are, why you're doing this, and I don't even care about your name. You don't rob _me._ "

"We don't care who they're working for?"

"No, Rae. We don't. They're just grunts and they're useless wastes of space. We'll let the cops deal with them."

Ruby pulled her gun away from his face and brought it upright, finally able to have a moment. She grabbed the charging handle and slammed her palm into the mag release, separating the gun from all its bullets as the magazine fell loudly to the floor, bouncing off the man's face.

"Oh yea, one more thing." She tossed the empty weapon aside. She grabbed one of the bullets off the floor and held it between her index finger and her thumb.

"Don't shoot me in the back."

"Fuckin' dyke."

Ruby's eyebrows went up. Her mouth hung open.

"Hey." Raven was suddenly over her shoulder. Even though he was under two-hundred pounds of unconscious associate and chair parts, she had no problem grabbing him by the collar and lifting his face to meet hers. "We don't talk like that. It's rude."

And then she knocked him all the way out.

Ruby was stunned. Rae looked over with a smile and a wink.

"I got you."

"Th-thanks."

"Don't worry about it." Raven stood up, and without even flinching, bent the gun she was holding all the way in half, spewing broken steel and wood to the floor. "Alright everybody, the situation has been dealt with. We are Huntresses, you're all safe now. If someone would be so kind as to call an ambulance for these three morons, that would be okay I guess."

Ruby stood up all the way. "Oh, and the cops, too."

The crowd of people all stood up from the floor. One person started to clap slowly. The rest started to follow along. Before long the bank was clapping and cheering loudly for them. There was whoops, there was whistles of appreciation. The smiles on their faces were more than contagious. Ruby laughed. Raven did, too.

"We did it, Rae."

"Yeah we did."

"I'm proud of you. You did something good."

"Thanks, Sunshine."

Ruby's laugh became a scoff.

"Oh, alright fine. You can call me sunshine."

" _Yes!"_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"It's cold."

"Rae, it's twenty degrees out."

"But I'm cold."

She rolled her eyes, and stuffed her hands in her hoodie pocket. "No, you're not cold, you're nervous. Calm down, and keep up. We have somewhere to be."

"I hate skipping class."

"This place is closed to minors after school hours, and we have no choice."

"Then why are we even going?"

She stopped, turning and almost getting bowled down by the tall woman. "Do you want to stand trial and make a statement?"

"...No, not really."

"Then we have to go see a buddy of mine."

"Uh huh. And you're _certain_ that you weren't in on it?"

Ruby huffed, and spun back around, marching away without justifying that with an answer. Her boots stomped through the puddles, splashing against the cuffs of her jeans. It had been a week since the robbery, and after being questioned by the police officers who were first responding, they'd been asked to come to court the following Friday to testify against the assailants, who were going to be charged with grand larceny, assault with a deadly weapon and endangerment. Ruby would have been happy to testify, no problem, but her companion? Less so. She'd agreed to, on scene of course, but in hindsight she was only talking on reflex.

It wouldn't be so good to have a member of a notorious, _criminal_ organization as a key witness. So Ruby had decided that they'd need to do something a little bit criminal themselves.

"We're here." she said, stopping outside the crummy and unmarked warehouse, _deep_ in the bad side of town. They were down by the docks, in the industrial sector, surrounded by about forty blocks of red brick and steel sided factories, chainlink fences and barbed wire. The air _tasted_ of rust and soot. Tetanus threatened them with every step they took, her expensive steel-toe boots be damned.

"Okay, where the fuck is 'here'?"

She guided them into the lot, past a collection of discarded steel girders, wrecked cars, and stacks of rotted two-by-twelves that littered the lot in front of the old metal casting plant. The logo, a huge lobster holding a wrench, had fallen from the front wall of the building years ago and left its imprint in the faded masonry, having once proudly said _Seaside Steel and Metalworks._ A forgotten building from a forgotten era. She approached a small, unmarked door. Well, it was unmarked _now,_ as the imprint of what used to be an entrance sign still remained.

"Right where we need to be." She said, and proceeded to knock on the door heavily four times.

"Summer, this place is abandoned, who do you expect to ans-"

" _Who is it?"_ Came a booming voice from the other side. Raven jumped back in surprise, making Ruby smirk at her.

"Just two lonely souls, walking in the moonlight..."

"Wait, Summer, it's two in the afterno-"

" _You may enter."_

Raven jumped again as the sound of _four_ heavy locks slid out of place on the other side of the door. With a loud and ear-splitting creak, the door swung slowly and painfully open, making Raven jam her fingers in her ears. Ruby, of course, was used to it. This particular place had been her hideaway during her time, whenever she needed to get away from it all. She'd been welcomed with open arms the last time.

"Wait, how the hell did you know the password?" Raven asked, crossing her arms and following her over the threshold.

"Because he hasn't changed it in twenty years." she mumbled back, rolling her eyes. She'd been actually surprised that the password had worked, really.

"What was that?"

Ruby smiled, and turned back. "Let's just say I know a guy."

"The amount of people and things you know concerns me, Summer."

"As it should, Rae. As it should."

She led them through the thin hallway around the outside wall of the building, the heavy bass of the dancefloor slowly starting to get louder and louder as they moved.

"Wait, is this a nightclub?"

"Yes, ma'am." They rounded the corner, suddenly blinded by the light rig and strobes that accompanied the almost deafening dubstep. "Raven... Welcome to _The Crystal Ball."_

The whole building seemed to pulsate with noise. The room was packed, wall to wall with dancers, all holding glowsticks and bouncing roughly in time with the music. A thick cover of smoke covered the floor and ceiling, blanketing everyone's feet and the building's rafters in the ominous dark. Up on stage, like the idol he was, was the very Masked DJ she'd come to admire for his ability to have exactly the right song cued up for any circumstance. She remembered a time, after bringing Weiss to this very establishment, that Thinking Out Loud had come on almost out of nowhere, and she'd asked the girl to dance. It had been beautiful.

Sadly, this was different.

"C'mon, we have to go see someone." she said, grabbing Raven by the elbow and guiding her towards the dancefloor.

"Who?!"

"You'll see."

They approached the edge of the floor, surrounded by a thick velvet rope and two very surly-looking black-suited individuals. Wearing sunglasses. Inside. Ruby scoffed internally. His fashion sense hadn't changed either.

"Where d'you think yer goin', missy?" the one on the left asked, pushing his palm into her shoulder.

"I'm here to see Hei." she replied, not affected by his tone or glare from behind his drugstore sunglasses.

"Hey, woah, nobody is here to see nobody, 'specially not no kids." said the other, half-drawing his katana from it's sheath.

"Right, right, I forgot, Hei doesn't exist and certainly wouldn't partake in the ownership of a nightclub like this, now would he?" she said, turning to Raven. She was wide-eyed and frozen solid at having been drawn on.

"Uh...?"

"No, of course not." she turned back to the guard, repositioning herself so that her back was fully to Raven. "Perhaps I should rephrase..."

She let them light. Only a little, and not enough to brighten the room any. But light enough to startle the guards into retracting back a few steps and take their hands off her. Normally, she could only do it in the presence of the Grimm, but two years of study, training, and recklessness in her laboratory had allowed her to unlock newer and newer parts of her mysterious semblance and abilities.

"...I'm here to see the prophet."

She wouldn't have even had to move a muscle, or expend any ounce of energy to defeat these goons. They were as weak as ever, and as disposable as ever. A little threatening was all they needed to make them move out of her way.

"Shit..." the thicker one said to his partner. "Boss said she'd be coming. Let 'er through."

"R-right." he buckled his katana back into its sheath, locking it down with the clasp. He grabbed the hooked side of the velvet rope gate and opened it, gesturing them to enter.

Ruby smiled coyly, and followed his generous instructions, gliding onto the dancefloor. Raven followed obediently, slipping between the goons and into the pulsating crowd currently tearing it up. Today's music selection was a little dated for her taste, however it was at least period-correct. She'd never been excited to hear the nightcore version of Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, and today was certainly no exception.

"Wait, how are we even allowed in here?" Raven asked over the noise. "Why didn't they card us?"

"This place is just a dance club during the daylight hours, they don't serve booze yet." she answered, having to shout as they moved closer to the speaker stacks. "They'd be carding us after four-thirty. We're safe until then."

"Oh." came the unimpressed answer. "You know, this is most certainly not my scene, but why would _anyone_ go to a dance club during the day, especially without alcohol?"

"Because, dear Raven, they're licensed to serve alcohol after hours. The stuff they serve during the day isn't exactly licensable."

"Oh. _Oh!"_ she exclaimed, catching on.

"Yeah. Get it now?"

"This is a vice den?"

Ruby turned quickly, raising a finger to her lips. "Hey, not so loud! This place has to stay running _some_ how."

"And we're _absolutely certain_ you had nothing to do with the robbery?"

"You know, more and more I've been questioning myself, too."

They had reached the bar. The woman behind it was not quite who she was looking for, and when she approached, Ruby frowned.

"Welcome to The Crystal Ball, anything I can get you two?"

"Nah, I'm good for now." She turned to her partner. "Rae? Want anything?"

Raven leaned on the edge of the counter and drummed her fingers. "Uh, a menu, I guess. What am I supposed to order, Summer? Wait, you guys do serve food, right?"

The waitress nodded with a humble smile. "Of course, just a moment."

She turned to leave, but before she could make it out of her own footprint, Ruby reached over the counter and grabbed her by the sleeve and redirected her away from Raven.

"M-Ma'am?"

"There is one thing you can get me, actually."

She whispered, as to stay out of earshot of her associate.

"Yes?"

"Bring me the big guy. Tell him the Silver Eyes are here."

The recognition set in on the woman's face, and all the blood drained from it. Ruby let her go, and off she went, dashing into the back as quickly as she could without raising any suspicion from the other patrons. Ruby pulled out one of the stools and sat down on it, getting comfortable. She knew she'd be here a while. There was a lot of explaining she needed to do.

"Mere, what's going on?"

Ruby levelled a look to Raven. "Nothing bad. But make yourself scarce. He's not gonna want to see you. Well, no, he is, just preferably from afar. He's a little timid."

"Uh, but what about my food?"

"I suspect the other bar will be open in a second. Why don't you mosey on over there?"

Raven looked at her incredulously for a second, getting up from her stool. "Alright, I guess."

"I'll come get you when I'm done."

"Okay. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Ruby smirked at her. "You were a part of the Branwen tribe, there's really a small list of things you wouldn't do, Rae."

Raven rolled her eyes with a dry chuckle and a mumble of 'shut up', and walked off, leaving Ruby alone at the bar. Ruby let out her breath and sank down a little, turning back around to face the serving trench. Not a moment later, Exactly who she was waiting for rounded the corner and stopped as soon as she made eye contact with him. His scowl turned slowly into a grin, and he moved towards her, much slower than a man of his stature would normally.

"Thank you for letting me know, Leanne. Why don't you go open the other bar, this one's gonna be down for a while."

"Of course, sir." the small woman said, darting away into the rave of people.

Ruby smiled at him as he leaned onto his side of the wide granite bartop.

"Hello, Hei."

He smirked, putting his weight down on his arms.

"Hello, Miss Rose."

"Heard you were expecting me."

"I was."

"Just not this soon, right?"

He grinned, standing up and reaching under the bar for a cloth and an empty glass.

"Yeah, you could say that. You're just a little bit early."

"About twenty years?"

"Yeah. Give or take."

The large man's well-trimmed face and neat suit and tie were the same she'd known for two years now, just many years in the future. He'd welcomed her to his bar, gave her a place to stay and recoup after difficult missions, and fed her and her team when they were out on the town. Well, except for one person on her team.

"I take it you're alone this time? Won't be destroying my bar?"

"No, sir. Not today. One day, maybe."

He chuckled, loosely scrubbing the inside of the glass.

"I look forward to it."

They sat in silence for a moment, reminiscing on things that hadn't occurred yet. For everyone else, that was.

"I'm here to see the prophet." she finally decided on, breaking the silence.

"Oh yeah?"

"Well, otherwise I'd be here for Hei Xiong, but he doesn't exist, does he?"

"Nope. Just a name on a document and a painting on the wall." he gestured to said painting against the back wall of the bar, just next to the huge mirror.

"Okay, what about his son? Hei Xiong _Junior?"_

"Hmm, never heard such a name. He go by something else?"

Ruby paused for effect.

"The Prophet Of Time?"

"See that..." he pointed at her with the edge of the glass. "...That I can help you with."

Hei Xiong was an interesting fellow. A bartender, sure by day, but that wasn't why he was on Remnant. He wasn't just a bartender, a mixologist, a criminal, and a junior Huntsman, no not at all. Because, while yes he looked young and fit, like one would expect from him based on his profession and education, but this was merely an illusion. For Hei Xiong, or the man claiming to be, was more than anyone could comprehend.

Unless you were Ruby, since she'd started to understand more and more about the people she's known over the last week and change. And that certainly included the owner of her favourite establishment. See, where the headmaster had the unique and cursed semblance of having a regenerating and cyclical existence over multiple bodies and persons with a continuous stream of consciousnesses, _Junior's_ stream of consciousness was unending, and predetermined. For he was a Prophet. An oracle of knowledge from and for the past and future.

He'd anticipated her arrival. He'd known he'd be visited by a conflicted woman with silver eyes, with immense abilities and a knowledge outside of the natural string of time. He knew she'd be coming. It had been his prophecy. Well, one of them.

"But first, is there anything I can get you to drink?"

Ruby shrugged.

"You're the one who knows what like."

"You're right, I am."

Ruby looked to the countertop, where a strawberry sunrise had appeared like magic. A real feat, seeing as a sunrise needed crushed ice, or at least the ones she would order did, and he'd managed to make it without her hearing an ice machine fire up and without reaching in to any kind of ice chest. Almost as if he knew she was going to order it before she'd opened her mouth.

"Thank you kindly," she said, picking up the little glass and taking a sip, enjoying the sweet grenadine. "You're a master at this, Hei."

"What can I say? Been alive long enough to learn a few tricks here and there."

"I'm glad you have. Man, these are good."

"I'm told your sister's gonna order a lot, so I might as well get some practice in, right?"

"Told by who?" she chided.

"The prophecy. The Time. You know."

She downed the rest of her drink, trying to stave off the impending temporal headache.

"Less talk, more drink, Junior."

"Of course."

She looked to her drink, which had filled again, despite never leaving her hand.

"Damn, you're good."

"I see things and know things before they happen. Are you really surprised?"

"Yeah, still surprising."

He chuckled, and put another glass on the counter, pouring himself a drink of water.

"Well, I'm glad I could entertain you, Rose."

She sighed, cheerfully swinging her legs under her stool.

"Hey, so, I have a few things I wanna ask you, Hei."

"Please, don't be shy."

She stopped swinging, putting her elbows up on the counter and twiddling nervously.

"Uh, so..." she struggled to formulate a coherent explanation. "I think I saw one."

Junior knew what she meant, but entertained the flow of conversation. "One of what?"

"A ripple."

"Hmm. When?"

"At the bank."

"Yes, the bank."

"We were standing in line, I was just there to get a direct deposit form, and..." she paused, forgetting how to explain it. "...it was like... the air was wrong. There was no light passing through that spot."

"And what did you see in that spot?"

"The three men. They weren't yours, were they?"

He frowned, sipping his water. "Bank robbery's not our style, you know that."

"Yeah, yeah. Thought I'd ask anyways."

"Well, what happened with the three men?"

She shivered, remembering the feeling.

"I died."

"I see."

"I was killed. Shot in the back with hollow-points. I remember my heart stopping."

"And then suddenly you were fine, right?"

"Yeah."

"Because you followed the ripple."

The Prophet, as usual, was being convoluted and confusing. She was walking in circles, she thought. Her brain was desperately trying to play chronal catchup, and it was losing badly. The alcohol wasn't helping, either.

"I don't know. Geez, should you be serving me liqueur?"

"This better?"

She looked back to her glass. The drink was a clear yellow liquid, smelling of fruit. Apple juice.

"Yeah..."

"Tell me about the bank. Tell me what happened."

"But don't you know? Can't you like, read the prophecy or whatever?"

"I can't see prophesized events that only happened for you."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"It means..." he set his glass down, half full. "... that you didn't die. Because you chose to ignore the ripple the second time around. So therefore, the ripple dissipated, and no longer exists."

"I thought you once told me that when a ripple goes away it just reappears somewhere else?"

"Yes, but I haven't told you that yet."

This was almost too much for her. The Prophet, as usual, seemed so composed and calm, despite the universal implications of their conversation.

"You're hurting my head."

"I know. You'll get used to it."

"Why did I see it? I thought only you could see ripples."

"You broke the laws of physics, and ripped a fairly substantial hole in the universe when you did. A hole you can now see the results of, when they pertain to your life and well-being. Think of it like this, you drop a pebble into a pond, and you can't really see the waves because it doesn't make any. But you detonate a thermonuclear explosive in that pond, the waves get a little clearer."

Ruby paused, scratching her head with both hands, a little shocked by that analogy.

"So I'm... invincible?"

He laughed. "Sort of. No. Maybe. It's difficult to explain. You're very much as vulnerable and mortal as the rest of us. However, until you _surpass_ your birth, you technically can't die. You'll just be given a second chance."

"What?"

"The god of life is a fickle being, and a generally ruthless one. But there is something to be said about his dislike of broken timelines."

"On second thought, I need a _lot_ of alcohol to understand this."

"Hey, be careful what you wish for, or you might just enter..."

He stopped speaking. Just as Ruby was about to question him, she watched him point to the dance floor, where the first few bars of a very particular Kenny Loggins song had started playing. She turned her gaze back to him, to see a very smug look on his face.

"Really?"

"The Danger Zone."

She reached over the counter and picked up his glass, and emptied it's contents into his face. He scrunched up, squeezing his eyes shut and freezing in position.

"Dick."

"Yeah, no, I deserved that, in hindsight."

"Didn't see _that_ in the prophecy, didya?"

"Nope, can't say I did."

Ruby laughed. It was amusing to toss a drink in the face of someone like this. The opportunity didn't come around very often.

"Anyway, sorry. But I do actually have a thing I need your help with."

"And it has to do with the ripple you saw?" he said, towelling his face off.

"Yeah, since I didn't follow it and therefore didn't die, we saved everyone in the bank and held the robbers under citizen's arrest until the police arrived."

"Well that's very upstanding of you."

"I know. Except now the detectives want us to be key witnesses in the trial, and questions are starting to arise as to how I knew the bank was going to be robbed in the first place. Their lawyer is saying that seeing as there's no way a normal citizen would know that a robbery was about to happen, so we in essence assaulted those men, who could have just been normal conceal-and-carry guys, who were just all in the bank at the same time for legal reasons."

"They're... counter-suing two huntsmen for stopping a robbery? I take it their lawyer is also fairly criminal?"

"I'll say. And I think our C-and-C laws restrict things like SCAC rifles and PDWs anyways, but since my partner snapped one of their guns in half, we might be getting destruction of personal property too, if they can provide ownership for the guns."

"Holy hell."

"And their counter argument if we can prove that they _were_ going to rob the bank, is that there's no way I would have known in advance unless I was in on it."

"So, conspiracy to commit charges, then."

Ruby sipped her drink. "Yeah."

"You fucked up."

"I did." she set her glass down with a light _thunk_ of heavy glass on granite. She frowned down at it. "And since when does the Prophet of Time swear?"

He smiled. "Oh, Rosie, I've been alive long enough to know curses in languages that don't exist anymore." as a demonstration, he opened his mouth and made what could only be described as a series of ear-splitting creaks and pops, making Ruby cover her ears and cringe.

"Fuckin' kinda language was that?"

"Che-taan. I'd be drawn and quartered for what I just said."

"What did you say?" she asked, a little scared for the answer.

"There' no... direct translation into Valean, but it involves you mother, your father, a cactus, and a sexual act involving all three."

"Hoo. From where?"

"A continent that no longer exists thanks to the movement of the planet's tectonic plates."

"That's... a long time ago."

"It is. Now, don't say that to anyone."

"Thought you said the language didn't exist anymore."

He sighed, leaning against the bar again. "The language, the people, the culture, the artifacts. No history book has the Che-taan in it since their society died out and the land sunk beneath the East Vacuan Sea, long before anyone was keeping records of anything."

"Geez."

"My theory is that they were like us. Travellers outside of the timestream, which angered the gods, so they disposed of them. They, like you, had a lot of pre-dating future knowledge they shouldn't have. Built massive, mechanically and technologically modern monuments to the gods, but _different_ gods. A lot of dog-headed faunus gods, I seem to remember."

"That's pretty weird."

"Yeah." he paused. "Shit, sorry, we got off topic, what did you need my help with?"

"Right. I, uh, don't need your prophetic knowledge this time, but your criminal knowledge."

"What are you talking about, I'm not a criminal."

"You're right, you're just a terrible liar."

"Heh. That's accurate. Okay, what do you need?"

"I need for me and my partner to not stand trial, or be present at the court, and for all this to be swept under the rug. As we've established, me and my associate aren't exactly the most upstanding of citizens."

"Okay." he nodded, slipping his hands into his pockets and putting his back against the mirror. "I know _you_ shouldn't be anywhere near a public records room, but what's wrong with your associate? Other than their ability to snap steel weapons in half."

Ruby pointed over her shoulder to the other bar across the room. "See that girl over there, feathery black hair, fancy red suede overcoat and thigh-high leather boots?"

"Yeah, she a model?"

Ruby chuckled. "No, but you could be convinced."

"Yeah, I'll say. Damn."

"Well that's Raven Branwen."

His whole body locked up, and he grabbed onto the bar top to stay standing. His eyes went wide, and his breathing stopped.

"Huh _what!"_ his voice wavered. "As in, Raven Branwen, daughter of Corvo and Magpie Branwen? Of the Branwen tribe?"

"That'd be the one, Junior."

His voice dropped to a harsh whisper as he crouched down.

"And you thought that you should bring her into my bar?! Are you crazy?! She could kill everyone in here with one hand tied behind her back!"

"I know. But so could I, and you weren't worried about me, now were you?"

"Well, no, of course not, you're not a part of the most notorious criminal gang in all of Remnant!"

Ruby shrugged. "Neither is she anymore."

"What, why not?"

"Gang's gone now. Only her and her brother left. Everyone else is..." she tried to figure out a way to say they were dead that wasn't so harsh. "...gone. Permanently."

"How did they die? How did _Corvo-fucking-Branwen_ die?"

Oh, of course.

"Uh, you know how the Atlas military has been doing raids on bandit camps the last few years and making a lot of arrests?"

"Uh huh."

He showed no signs of relaxing.

"The army hit there camp with about a week of shelling. From a six hundred millimetre railway gun. Went in and slaughtered anyone who was left. No prisoners taken."

"Holy shit."

"Yep."

"How'd she escape _that?!"_

"Her and her brother were out of the camp, on a hunt for food. 'Parently they heard the explosions and stayed away, and ended up in Mistral, of all places. Went back after the army cleared out to a barren wasteland of nothing."

Junior paused, and straightened a little.

"But how could they be sure their parents were gone?"

"Have you tried being hit with a week of catastrophic explosions?"

"Fair point."

"And as the last two members of the tribe that _should_ have been wiped out in a military raid..."

"She might be a little wanted."

Ruby finished her apple juice and set the glass down. "Yeah, you don't say."

"What name did you give the cops on scene?"

"Summer Rose and Ray Brighton. Both fake, technically."

"Brighton?"

"It's what she's 'officially' listed as in the school registry, but the headmaster knows to call her by Raven. Keeps the police and the army from raiding the school and finding the _other_ less than legal stuff going on there."

"I hate that school."

Ruby chuckled at his expense.

"Yeah, it sucks. Say, I haven't seen you around campus at all."

"Night classes. Keeps me out of the public eye more than I need to be."

"Oh, okay. What're you taking?"

"Supplemental stuff. Fourth year finishing classes."

She shook her head. "You've been alive this long and you're only now getting around to doing a four-year degree?"

"Please, I've already attended every other academy and school around. This isn't the last on my list, either."

She nodded slowly, wondering how then he'd been so easily beaten up by her sister, _before_ attending Beacon. Perhaps that was just another part of his act.

He coughed. "So I'll take it from context clues that you need me to help keep you and her away from any kind of hearing so she stays alive and you stay out of a maximum security prison?"

"Is that possible?" she asked, leaning over onto her hands and doing doe eyes at him.

"Well, I dunno, it's a tall order for a little lady."

Ruby let her face drop in mock disappointment. She pouted. A very effective and very adorable pout.

"Oh."

"Of course it's possible, Rosie, I'm Junior Xiong! I can do anything I want, remember? Do you know how many cops I have in my pocket?"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask, why a criminal nightclub anyways?"

He shrugged, standing up straight and reaching for a rotary phone behind the bar. "Pays the bills. When's the court date?"

"Friday."

He did a double take as he reached for the dial.

"Fri- man, you're pushing my ability _real_ thin, eh?"

"I had to try, Hei."

"We'll get it done, don't worry. It just means I have to do this _now,_ and not tomorrow. Had you gone to any other criminal don, and this might not be so easy."

"I came to ask a favour..." she tried her best Mistrali mafia accent.

"At least you're not asking me to do murder for money."

"No, I'm good on my murder quotient for the foreseeable future."

He laughed boisterously. "That's certainly reassuring. Give me a moment."

He dialed a few numbers, pulling out a notebook from inside the ill-fitting vest. They waited. Ruby could hear the ringing tone from all the way over on her side of the bar. After a moment, the line clicked. She couldn't hear what the other person was saying.

"It's me." he said, after wasting no time with introductions. "I need something brushed aside."

She waited with baited breath as the man she knew as the Prophet morphed into his little mob persona, his ten thousand watt stare focused off into the distance. People didn't tend to mess with the Vale Mafia, and most certainly not with the don, who could be on occasion, fairly ruthless like today.

"The robbery case on Friday. Two witnesses will not be in attendance." He scribbled something in his notebook. "Yes, them. No, that's not the reason. Yes, they are. Yes, I'm sure. Patrick, listen to me. Yes. No."

She was unsure of the questions he was being asked, but the longer he went on, the longer the pauses between them. Clearly, his associate, Patrick, was getting nervous.

"Listen, they won't be attending. You will not be asking them any questions. Do you understand me?"

A long, drawn out pause.

"Good. I'll send my regards in a form you seem to like. Let's make sure no one finds out about it, shall we?"

He slammed the handset down into the phone, quickly picking it up again and dialing another number. The wait for this person to pick up was much shorter. Almost instant.

"Theresa, it's me. Set Pat a little 'thank you' gift." He paused. Then smiled, evilly. "Yes, that kind of gift. Put 'em in skirts. Maybe this time, let his wife find out."

Ruby grimaced, trying not to think about what kind of gift he was sending.

"I'm not pleased with how he's running things. I think it's time for a new DA. Yes, he's good for one more job for me. I want to see it in the headlines by Monday."

Again, the phone was put down. Ruby looked at him with both bewilderment and concern.

"There. Problem solved. You won't have to stand trial."

"Problem so- you fixed this by sending _girls_ to the _District Attorney?"_

"When did I say girls?"

Her eyes went wide. " _Oh!"_

"He has, uh, particular vices. Ones we can cater to."

"Yeesh."

"Some people do drugs. He does twinks."

Ruby choked on her snort. "You also cater that too, right?"

"Don't ask, don't tell, Rosie."

She held up her hand. "Yes, sir."

"Good girl." He reached over and picked up her glass, setting it down in the hidden sink below the bar. "I can't believe all this for a ripple."

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Just remember, you owe me a favour now, too."

"Oh shit, really?"

"What, you never watched The Godfather? I _have_ to charge you a favour, it's how any self-respecting mafia works!"

"What do you need a favour from me for, you know everything before it happens!"

A solitary finger was waved in her face. "Not everything, Rosie. There are some ripples I can't decipher just yet. Maybe I'll call on you to help me."

"But _I'm_ not the Prophet of Time, what help can I be?"

"Some things... no matter how many lives I've lead... still elude me."

"Like what?!"

He pointed over her shoulder. She turned to see one of the waitresses sauntering from table to table across the room. She was strikingly familiar, and just as gorgeous even in the strobe-light and neon glow of the dancefloor. Even if she _was_ just wearing the standard restaurant uniform of black slacks and matching vest jacket combo. Her soft brown hair tied up in a neat bun behind her head, with a few errant strands floating behind her ears.

"Women, for one, and _that_ woman, for two. You see the ripple around her?"

Ruby did a once over of the woman. "No?"

"Mmm. Well, I can. And it's overwhelming, and I don't know why."

"What's her name?"

He paused, letting a sweet smile onto his face.

"Fawn."

Ruby's head nearly snapped around, it clicking in her memory. She'd known the woman from before, albeit _years_ in the future.

"Hei, that's your wife."

His face contorted. "Excuse me?"

"Fawn Xiong, your wife, the mother to your kids, and if I recall correctly, the owner of the _other_ bar you run across town, _Indulgence."_

"I could never get married, Rosie, I'd outlive anyone I came across."

"Maybe that's why you can't see it in the prophecy."

"But I can't follow the ripple, that would cause devastation. It's a sign of future harm and suffering. The universe is literally telling me what not to do, that's why I can't prophesize it."

"That's what love is, buddy. Pain and suffering."

"But I can't break the-"

"Yes you can, and yes you will. You're gonna marry that girl at the end of the school year, you understand?"

"She's like, twenty-seven!"

"And you're..."

He paused, dumbfounded.

"Touche."

"I'm done with all my friends not manning up and asking the people they like out, you're gonna do that _today,_ bud."

"What if she says no?"

She levelled him a glare. "I may _not_ be the Prophet of Time, but I can assure you that she will with one hundred percent certainty."

"I'm going to hold you to that. You might find me under your bed with a chainsaw should this turn out poorly, Rosie."

"Whatever, nerd."

She turned and waved to Raven, who looked up from her lunch. She gestured for her to come over, and she did, getting up from her seat and grabbing the steel basket that had her food in it and making her way over. Junior squeaked, not expecting this.

" _Wait, don't call Branwen over, are you cr_ \- Good afternoon, ma'am, something I can get you to drink?"

His whisper and scared attitude changed the instant she was within earshot. Raven approached the bar with a nervous step.

"No, I'm good, thanks. Summer, I thought you said this side of the room was closed."

She sat down on the stool next to her. "It is, I just wanted you to meet the man who's saved our bacon. This is Hei Xiong. Hei, this is Raven Branwen."

"A pleasure." He said, his voice smooth and deep, with no signs he was absolutely terrified of her in his voice. "Are you enjoying your visit to the Crystal Ball?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm sorry, _this_ is your contact, Summer? The bartender?"

"He's a man of many talents, Rae. He knows his way around a court case."

"Right, right. This is a vice den, I forgot."

"Especially if your vice is..." Ruby looked into her basket. "...Chicken tenders and fries."

"I was _hungry,_ are you gonna judge me for that too?"

"Yes."

"First of all, how dare you, second of all, how _dare_ you."

Ruby reached into the basket and stole one of the breaded chicken pieces, and shoved it in her mouth. "Yoink!"

"Hey!"

"Shnooze you looze"

Junior chuckled at them, his charming smile cracking again.

"You two are cute, you know?"

Raven slid her tray as far away as she could get, glaring at him. "No!"

Ruby beamed. "Her lips are really soft." Raven didn't find this funny, tossing a packet of ketchup at her.

"Shut the fuck up, Summer."

Junior's eyebrows traced almost all the way up to his hairline.

"Oh hoh?"

Raven turned an angry finger to him. "Don't read into it, old man!"

"Rae, honey, he's like, twenty-two." she lied. "And also the don of the Vale Mafia, maybe watch your tone?"

Her whole body went sheet white, and she blubbered her apology. "I am _so_ sorry, sir, I-"

"Hey, don't worry." Ruby cut her off. "I'm sure he's more scared of you than you are of him. And he might be a big guy, but he's just a big teddy bear, right?"

"Neither confirm nor deny."

"And right now, since you're a paying customer, he's even sweeter than normal."

Raven turned a look to her. "Your friends are weird, Sunshine."

"My friend is keeping us out of handcuffs and isolation chambers."

"Okay, that's good I guess."

"Can I have some fries?"

"You can kiss my ass." Raven said, glaring and shoving a handful into her mouth. "Are you finished here?"

"Soon as I settle up your high-cholesterol habit, which I thought you were watching." she said, pulling out her wallet and flipping it open to grab her credit card.

"What did I just say about my ass and you kissing it?"

"Whatever. Junior, you got a card reader here?"

He held up his hand, palm out.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to charge you and your friend when you're in my bar. Just make sure you come back when I'm on shift, or you _will_ be charged."

"I like your friend all of a sudden, Mere." she said, mouth full of fries and gravy. "He's cool."

He smiled, taking her empty basket away from her and sliding over the canister of napkins.

"And I appreciate your patronage."

"Yeah, he's alright." Ruby said, winking at him. He winked back. Lucky for them, Raven was too busy trying to get a small gravy splotch out of her shirt to notice this. Also lucky for them, the stain was on her school-issue blouse and not on her red coat, since that would have triggered a city-wide slaughter. "You ready to leave now, Rae?"

"Yeah, I'm good." she stood up from her stool, and pocketed the napkin.

Ruby stood as well, pushing off from the countertop. "Thanks for entertaining us, Hei. And thanks for the help."

"Any time, Rosie. Stay out of trouble, and stay away from banks."

This garnered a soft chuckle from both girls. Ruby stuck her hands in her pockets, and shrugged.

"Hey, I do not control the speed at which banks get robbed."

"Fair, just make sure you aren't part of the next one, okay?"

"Don't worry, big guy, you'll see me again soon."

"I know." he tapped his temple. "I'm counting on it."

She smiled and waved, turning around and slipping her arm into Raven's, who rolled her eyes but didn't shove her off, and led them back towards the entrance. Just before they were back within the crowd of dancers, Ruby turned her head back to the bar, and glared at Junior. She scowled, and pointed in the direction of the waitress from earlier with force. He just levelled a sour look at her, mouthing ' _fine'_ and untying his apron, tossing it into the sink. She smiled, and turned back around as they pushed into the fray of people.

The two guards were more than happy to open the velvet rope and let them out as soon as they made it across the dance floor, smiling nervously from behind the weapons and cheap sunglasses, making Ruby feel like the royalty she deserved to be. Raven was still confused by this display, but didn't say anything about it. She promised herself she'd tell her one day, but today was not that day. Raven didn't need to be damaged by the knowledge of time and the Prophet Of. As the heavy steel door slammed shut behind them and the cool breeze hit them again, Raven broke the silence of the empty yard.

"So we're in the clear, right?"

"Yes, Raven."

"We won't have to go to court?"

"No, we will not."

"I hope we didn't just make it worse."

"I can assure you we did not. No laws were broken by us."

"Okay. I trust you."

She smiled at her tall associate.

"I appreciate that. Thank you."

"No, thank _you_ for keeping me out of jail."

"I'd miss your pretty face."

Raven smacked the back of her head. Again. The both laughed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

"I don't really understand," her compatriot said, stepping down off a fallen tree and landing in the dust. "What you have us out here doing."

"We're on a mission, Qrow." Ruby replied with minimal sass. "You know. As part of our combat class."

"Yeah but... I thought First Years only ever got easy stuff like detective work and city maintenance."

Ruby came to a stop, and the thin man nearly tripped over her. "Are you saying you _want_ to clean up garbage and sweep corners?"

He puzzled for a second, searching for an answer in the vastly empty head of his. "Well, no, but isn't this sort of dangerous what we're doing?"

"Dangerous? Whatever do you mean? We've got the two of you, legendary bandits from a legendary tribe, Taiyang, who I can only imagine could punch a hole through the planet if he so chose..." she paused a moment to look over to said boy, and admire how his arms looked in his vest. She shivered. _Bad Ruby. "_ And me, powerful huntress extraordinaire. I've been hunting and slaying since you were in diapers, boy."

He blinked at her. "What."

She relented. "Alright, not that long, I'm merely saying I've had a lot of training."

"How, you're barely older than we are, Mere, and-"

At this point, he was cut off his sister, who grabbed his shoulder and made him flinch. "Qrow, the less questions you ask, the more you understand about her, trust me."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" he exclaimed, spinning around to face the brawny woman.

"Don' worry about it." she said with a sly smile and her best impression of the bouncer from the other day. "What'choo don' know won't hurt ya."

He squinted, his eyes flicking between her and his sister. He gasped quite exasperatedly, throwing his arms up and spinning around. "Fine, whatever. Ex- _cuuuse_ me for trying to understand what's going on here."

He brushed passed, taking Tai, who was laughing at his antics, with him. Ruby beamed at them, crossing her arms and shifting her stance to cock her hips at them. A move her sister favoured, calling it the ' _sassy hip shuffle'_ and using it pretty much all the time.

"Actually, I have my own question, pertaining to his. Slightly." Raven stepped around her, her rather striking red leather coat crinkling as she did.

"Go 'head. I'm listening."

"I understand why we're out here, mission and all, dangerous or not, just..." she rolled her shoulder, and the rifle on her back slid forward and into her arms. "...Why as a rifle company?"

Ruby smiled and shrugged. "Using riflemen tactics and war-accurate weapons will teach us to work as a team together. We'll be relying on focus, tactics, bravery, camaraderie. You know, I think it will be good for us. Besides, these rifles shoot a big enough cartridge to rip through most of the Grimm in the county, so we won't be in all that much danger."

"...Sure, but you let us bring our regular weapons, too." She patted the pommel of her katana, sheathed tightly to her hips over her pants. "There's just too much kit, here."

"You trust me, right?"

"Of... course, Sunshine, I just don't understand? Like, these are bolt-action, crappy surplus rifles, they weight a damn tonne, and this sidearm holster is cutting off the circulation to my leg."

"They're not crappy, they're Atlesian surplus from the war. Incredibly high quality, legendarily accurate and reliable. Don't knock the 89k until you've fired it. And you can wear the holster on your belt, Rae."

She watched her partner fiddle with the old leather holster and the service pistol stored within it for a moment. The others were still within spitting distance, and Ruby was trying to keep it that way. They had precious cargo today, and she wasn't about to let it out of her sight.

"It's gonna be in the way of my sword, then."

"Wear it on your left side. Cross-draw it."

Raven fiddled for a moment, struggling to get the clasps undone off her rather thick and muscular thigh, before it finally broke free. The straps came off and were stuffed into a pocket of her coat. She took a second to massage her leg, her face twisting as blood rushed back to her feet, no doubt accompanied by the feeling of television static shooting down her leg. The holster was then re-attached to her belt, facing backwards on her left side. It was an old Valean Army thing to wear your sidearm like this, but that was back from the days of single-action revolvers and flintlock pistols.

"There, is that more comfortable?"

"Much. Still don't know why you think I need one, though."

"Always safe to carry a backup, Rae." she said, unbuckling _her_ holster and lifting the vintage, nickel-plated firearm out of it. "Plus these old 1911s are stylish as hell."

With a practised spin, she dropped the gun back into the holster on the left of her belt, flicking up the wrong-sided safety and dropping the buckle down over it. The 1911 and 89k had only been manufactured as right-handed weapons and that was only a little infuriating to her, but Summer was right-handed, so she'd continue to play the part.

"I mean I guess so. You're the expert."

"Wow, I'm actually glad you think so, Rae."

She shrugged. "I tells it like I sees it."

Ruby chuckled and gently punched Raven in the arm, who very quickly and amicably reciprocated. Turning away, she very easily and very sportingly jumped up on the log and then flipped off the other side, landing softly in the grass on the other side. She turned to watch Raven vault the log with one hand, probably so as to not drop her new guns into the dirt. As nice as they were, the open action of the rifles were prone to clogging up with mud and jamming, and that wouldn't be so good if they were suddenly ambushed by a Grimm.

"So, other than having to carry a gun, are you enjoying your day so far, Rae?"

The tall woman shrugged, brushing herself off. "I guess. It's a lot of walking. And it's not that I'm _not_ enjoying having a gun, I just think it's a little peculiar, that's all. Where did you get them, even?"

"Rudolf's gun store, downtown. They were like, two hundred lien a pop, and he gave me a deal on the bayonettes."

"When did you have time to go downtown?"

"I had to get my axe sharpened, so I went early this morning."

"But how did you get there and back without us knowing?"

Ruby paused, trying to figure out how to explain it without revealing her semblance.

"Uh, I know a guy."

Raven blinked at her. "Alright, then. Keep your secrets." She pushed past, rejoining the boys and their cargo. Ruby chuckled to herself, sighing and reminiscing for a second, before getting back in gear and skipping along behind them. She caught up, lining herself up with Tai and settling their march into a two-by-two pattern, with Raven and her irate brother tailing them by about twelve feet.

"How ya doin', buddy?" she questioned of the blond man, bopping him in the shoulder to grab his attention."

"M'alright, it's a fine day for a walk in the forest."

"I couldn't agree more. It's almost too warm out for this combat dress, eh?"

"You're right. You should have packed your tactical cargo shorts." he chuckled, gesturing down to his own beige shorts. "You can fit so many things in here. Snacks, books, band-aids... sun tan lotions..."

Ruby snorted. "I don't need you to justify your shorts to me, Tai, I'm already on your side. It's Captain Sense Of Style back there who disagrees with us!" she said, turning her head and directing her voice behind them.

"Beige is tacky!" Qrow yelled back.

"You're tacky!" Tai exclaimed with a grin, careful to not drop his cargo off his shoulders. Qrow swore something under his breath from behind them, that unfortunately for him, Ruby heard.

"Ey! Watch your tongue around the little one!"

Qrow brought his hands up in mock apology. "Sor- _ry,_ princess."

"She's right, shut up." Raven smacked him on the back of the head, nearly making him drop to the ground. A little softer wouldn't have hurt.

"Since when are you on her side, Rae?!" he demanded.

"She's my partner."

"But I'm your b _rother!_ Twin brother!"

"Yeah, and you're a giant pain in the..." she paused to look back at them. " _...butt."_

Ruby smiled and winked, turning back to Tai as the siblings started to bicker back and forth behind them.

"Quite a pair, aren't they?"

He wiggled his eyebrows and sighed. "Very much so. Tried to take a shower this morning to find the two of them actually fighting over the toothpaste."

Ruby paused for a second. "Oh, _that's_ why there's only three tubes. I thought one of you kept yours in your drawers or something."

"Yeah, sounds like..." he shuffled his shoulders to keep his precious cargo up on them. "...we gotta take them shopping."

"Ugh, I was literally _just_ out shopping with Rae and you remember how _that_ turned out."

Tai frowned down at her. "No, I don't quite know what you mean."

Ruby froze.

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Don't worry about it, everything's fine." she tried with a smile. Tai's face suggested he didn't quite believe her, but was too afraid to ask. "How's your back? Need a break?"

He looked up to the face of his cargo. She seemed otherwise occupied with holding on to his head and looking around.

"I think I'm fine. Cindy, honey, you okay?"

The little girl on his shoulders looked down at him and nodded vigorously, smiling, before getting distracted by a butterfly. Ruby beamed up at the precious little angel up on Tai's shoulders. It was a real contrast to what she thought she knew about the little girl. So innocent and pure. There was no way she would turn out like her memories indicated. She was going to make sure of that.

"So, not that I'm against it or anything, but I do have to ask..." Tai started, hiking his shoulders and keeping the little girl centered. "...But why are we bringing her with us?"

"Why?" Ruby looked up to Cindy, reaching the long way up the tall man, and tickling little Cindy in the spot between her shoulder and her ear. "Because Auntie Summer broke the fundamental laws of time and physics and has to pay the price! Isn't that right, my little munchkin?"

Cindy flushed and giggled, trying desperately and unsuccessfully to pull away. Tai chuckled.

"You did what?"

"Don't worry about it."

He blinked at her. "Alright, if you say so, boss."

"No, Headmaster asked me to babysit her. Wants me to help her unlock her semblance or something. Not really sure how that's gonna be possible, though."

"Why, because she's so young?"

"Being young doesn't have an effect on your semblance. My sister unlocked hers when she was like two. You-" she paused. " _Her dad_ tried to cut her hair and she exploded."

"Exploded."

"Yeah, set the living room on fire. Had to buy all new furniture and flooring. Do you know how bad burning laminate smells?"

"I'm sure I don't want to." he said, handing a lollipop up to Cindy, who opened it, stuck it in her mouth, and handed the wrapper back down to him.

"You will, soon enough." Ruby chided, hitting him with her elbow.

"God, I hope not." he said, bumping her back. "So what do you think her semblance is gonna be?"

"Fire. And that's a problem."

"How would you know that? And how would that be a problem?"

Ruby sighed. "Well, her name _is_ Cinder..."

"It is?" he said with surprise in his voice. "I thought Cindy was short for like Cynthia or something. Cinder's a lot cooler than what I was thinking."

"She's a cool girl. But that's not the problem."

"Well, what is the problem then?"

Ruby reached up to neatly brush the hair out of Cindy's face and put it back behind her ear. She smiled through her lollipop.

"She's pyrophobic."

Tai frowned.

"Excuse me?"

Ruby leaned in and lowered her voice. "She's afraid of fire. Ozpin found her in a burning village, trapped in a collapsed house. She can barely deal with desk candles."

"...oh, damn. Maybe her semblance will be something harmless like water projection or super-speed or something?"

"B...believe me, it's not. Just trust me on this, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Mere. If that's what we gotta do, then that's what we'll-"

"Grimm spotted!" Raven suddenly interrupted, nearly making the three of them leave their skins.

Ruby _immediately_ slung her rifle off her shoulder and got her hands around the grips, slamming the bolt up and back to open it. She spun around to her partner and Qrow, who had done the same. A good show of determination and trust that they hadn't immediately reached for their swords. "Where?"

"Not far off the path. Just one Creep from what I can see." she said, lowering her binoculars. She was proving an even more spatially aware lookout than Ruby had initially imagined she would be.

"I dunno, Creeps tend to move in packs of five or more." she said, pushing a stripper clip into the top of the old rifle and forcing the big rounds down past the follower. With a practised flick of her wrist, she sent the bolt back forward and down into battery, flipping the volley sight up into position.

"Really, I was more under the impression that they were partners, and I was forced to share a room with them."

It took Ruby a second to get the joke, but once it had finished processing in her brain she smirked, shouldering the gun and moving to the edge of the path. Sure enough, there was the single Creep, about two hundred yards off or so between the trees. She'd always found them weird looking. Where a Beowulf looked like a big dog, a Goliath like an elephant, and Nevermores like huge crows, Creeps always looked off. Like someone had taken a Komodo Dragon and edited out the torso and left it just with its hind legs. Not scary, just weird.

"Right, get in position. Tai, keep Cindy behind you."

"Yes, ma'am." he said, gently bending down to let the small child off his shoulders. She was surprisingly calm, despite the monster within attacking range. He too quickly loaded up and came into line.

"Right, has anyone fired a rifle before?" she asked, not expecting any affirmative answers.

"I went pigeon hunting with my mom once. Like, when I was seven." Tai said, fiddling with his safety. "Does that count?"

Ruby lowered her rifle all the way. Grandma had taken him hunting when he was a child? And yet he'd steadfastly kept guns out of her and Yang's hands until they were fourteen, that didn't seem fair to her. She made a face at him. To be fair, he hadn't done that yet.

"Eh, not really. A shotgun has no range, you don't have to account for windage, bullet drop, or the Coriolis effect." She re-shouldered her rifle. "These seven-nine-two full metal cartridges are also gonna kick worse than forty gauge birdshot and a lot worse than any modern PDW."

"So why aren't we using dust rounds?" Qrow asked from just to her left. He was still fighting with the almost eighty-year-old volley sight on his gun.

"Because dust is expensive, and these old rifle rounds will rip through Grimm armour plate like its tissue paper."

He seemed to balk at her sudden answer.

"So why the hell isn't everyone just using regular bullets?!"

"Because it's incredibly hard to acquire a PAL in Vale, especially if you're under twenty-five, and gunpowder ammunition is also crazy expensive and out of the reach of most consumers. Dust rounds are about a third as effective, but cost about a tenth the price, comparatively."

"Shit."

"I used to have a weapon that fired the incredibly illegal .50 BMG cartridge."

"And how did you get those?!" he asked, perplexed.

"She knows a guy." Raven and Tai said almost exactly in sync. Ruby smiled and looked over at Qrow.

"What they said. Right, ready position."

That was their signal. As soon as she'd said it, both Tai and Qrow dropped a knee into the dirt, leaving her and Raven standing upright. Four rifles were levelled on target, almost at the end of the range of the old guns' volley sights. She'd taught them to not grip the body of the gun but to rest it on an open palm, as this better balanced a gun like it was on a shooting bag. Made it easier to lay on target at range.

"Set..." she dialed in her aim on target. She knew everyone else would either miss or merely wound it, so she had to make sure it would go down. It was an easy shot, straight ahead, minimal trees in obstruction, and with a fairly accurate rifle.

"Fire." she finished, calmly. Four loud _bangs_ followed swiftly after as they all let fly. The rounds ripped through the foliage like it wasn't even there as the two-second delay snapped by and they hit their targets.

Targets, plural, of course, as she wasn't expecting any of them to be particularly good shots seeing as they all used melee-combat weapons and not distanced projectile ones. Two of the rounds went through the adjacent trees, only three or four feet off target. The third round, likely Tai's, went through the Grimm's left paw just below the ankle. Which would have crippled it enough to down it with a follow up shot, but Ruby hadn't given him the chance do reload his gun. She'd hit dead centre of the animal's face, millimetrically perfect between the eyes, severing the beast's brainstem, or what little there was of it, from its spine. It dropped to the ground mid-step like a sac of lead, crumpled and lifeless.

"Ho!" Tai cheered, having almost been knocked over by the recoil. "This thing really packs a punch! I want one of my own!"

"Eh, you can keep that one." Ruby shrugged, bringing the rifle only down enough to cycle the bolt and chamber a new round. "Keep your eyes out, there could be more."

"I've got movement ahead." Raven interjected, almost before Ruby could finish her statement. "Just behind where that one was."

Raven's rifle was the only one fitted with a proper scope, although it was an obsolete non-adjustable magnification sniper's sight, which made it difficult to aim at medium ranges like they were at. But with her almost hawk-like vision, Ruby'd decided she was the best candidate for being a spotter and carrying a scoped rifle.

"What's my lay?" Ruby asked, bringing the gun back up. Sure enough, there were three more black masses moving towards them from where the Creep had fallen.

"Maybe twenty more yards. You've got three incoming. Beowolves." Raven lowered her rifle for a second. "That's odd, why would they..."

"The creep was a decoy. Probably muscled into service. Same rules, closest one first." She finished. "Ready position."

"Are you telling me they bullied a Creep into being subservient? How is that possible?!"

"Did you pay attention in Peter's Grimm Studies lecture? Beowolves are notorious for drafting lesser Grimm into their ranks as decoys and sacrifices. Left side. Set."

They all went quiet and got the left-most Grimm layed on. Ruby let out her breath and steadied.

"Fire."

Again, four rounds went down range, tearing through the leading Grimm like it was part of the loose foliage. It too, went down like the creep had, crumpling to the ground with not even a yelp of pain. Surprising Ruby, three of the four shots hit the target this time. Someone was getting to grips with their firearm, it seemed.

"Range is still hot, target right."

They all readjusted, cycling their weapons and spitting hot brass into the dirt. Ruby turned her head back to Cindy. "You okay, sweetie? Are we being too loud?"

The little girl had her fingers in her ears and the little kitten doll tucked in the crook of her arm. She still had the lollipop in her mouth. Adorable, since even Ruby would have succumbed to the urge to just bite it apart by now. Cindy shook her head with a bright smile on her face. This put Ruby at considerable ease, knowing that the little angel felt perfectly safe in her care.

"Okay." she turned back to the Grimm. They were advancing kinda slowly in her opinion. She thought nothing of it. "Ready position."

Ruby'd left her gun with the spent casing in the chamber on purpose, as a test to her teammates. If any of them couldn't make the two hundred yard shot, she certainly could in a heartbeat, but she just wanted to see. "Set."

She braced. "Fire."

This time only three rounds went down range, but she faked the recoil anyways, making the gun lift and pulling it back like it had went off. Just like she'd expected, all three rounds had hit home this time, dropping the Grimm with a hit in the shoulder, stomach, and torso. A headshot would have downed it in one, of course, but the head was a tiny target for an inexperienced shooter, and aiming for it would have resulted in a miss. So the beast died as it fell, gurgling black blood out of its maw in its last few fleeting moments of life and making a pathetic attempt at a howl that never made it out of the lungs.

"Good shot, guys!" she said, unloading the fake spent cartridge and lowering the rifle.

"Why thank you, Mere." Tai tried, lowering his, standing up and cocking his hips at her. She chuckled, smirking in his direction.

"Don't be so full of yourself, Blondie. There's still one more."

"Yeah, but look how hesitant it is," Raven interjected, still having her scope trained on the animal down range. Ruby frowned.

"What? Give me your binoculars." she said, taking the item from her partner and looking through the eyepieces.

Sure enough, the final Beowolf of the pack was gingerly stepping around the decaying bodies of its comrades, a sight usually unheard of for the mindless creatures. But this one seemed almost remorseful. Scared, even. Ruby lowered the binoculars. Something wasn't right.

"Hmm. Well, better not leave it standing in case it has to report back to a superior. Watch this."

She slammed the bolt forward, chambering the next round and hoisted the stock up to her shoulder. Firing right-handed was a little more difficult, but not hugely, as she'd learned how after spraining her wrist during second year, and she always thought she was a good enough shot wrong-sided.

"What d'you mean, 'a superior', Summer?" Raven asked, pulling the last unfired round out of her gun.

"Doesn't matter, I'm sure it's nothing. Watch this, look at the Grimm, Rae."

She did, training her scope down range.

"Okay..."

"See the left eye?"

"Uh, yeah?"

Ruby pulled her trigger. The heavy rifle punched backwards into her shoulder, rising up a lot higher than the recoil-compensated sniper she loved so dearly. A hell of a kick for such a mediocre sized round, despite being _absolutely_ massive compared to an equivalent calibre dust round, which even a child could one-hand. The lead sailed down range at her target, which was blissfully unaware of the pain it was about to endure. Most dust cartridges fired at sub-sonic speeds, meaning if you were far enough away, you could watch a round leave a gun and follow the trajectory with your eye. But the 89K fired at a staggering two and a half _times_ the speed of sound, meaning that without the use of expensive high-speed cameras and two dorky blokes to operate them, the bullet was basically invisible.

Meaning the poor Beowolf had zero time to react as the round went in through it's left eye socket and back out through the back of its skull, bringing a mass of brain matter and black, acrid blood with it.

"Aw, _gross,_ Mere!" Raven cried, wincing and wrenching her eyes shut. "Good shot, though."

"That ain't nothing, watch _this."_ she said, cycling the bolt again and putting the last of the five rounds into battery. She gently switched hands, grabbing around the trigger guard with her left hand this time, and brought the gun up to firing position just to get lay on target.

"Wait, aren't you spent?"

"Not... quite..." she dialed in her aim. She then took the butt of the stock off her shoulder and held the gun out before her. Like a pistol. With _one hand. "_ Watch, right between the eyes, where the split in its armour plate is."

Raven brought her scope back up. "That's gonna kick you in the face, Mere!"

"Wanna bet?"

She pulled the trigger. Much like a military rifle firing with three thousand joules of energy with one hand might, the gun jumped backwards and up in her grip, nearly breaking her wrist a third time from the rotational torque. But she held on, trying not to grunt from the strain of keeping the butt end of the stock from punching her lights out. Her first time firing Crescent Rose like this before she'd installed the recoil compensator had resulted in her waking up in the infirmary at Signal with a black eye and four stitches in her left eyebrow.

Her bullet hit home, exactly where she'd predicted, splitting the beast's compromised skull in twain and more or less ripping it from its shoulders. It stumbled forward a step, by whatever motor function synapse might have remained, before collapsing forward over the decaying Creep, dead. Raven gasped, turning and staring at her with a bewildered look.

"How did you- That's not-"

"Possible? What, did you think that the person who bought four very specific army rifles, expensive real steel cartridges, and planned out entire rifle company maneuvers _didn't_ know how to shoot?"

Raven blinked at her. "Uh...yes? No?"

Ruby pulled the bolt back on her rifle, and spit the spent brass straight up in the air while holding eye contact with her flabbergasted teammate.

"Before you met me, this was what..." she snatched the shell out of the air like a fly. "...I was good at."

"I am genuinely, ceaselessly impressed by you, Sunshine. And a little scared, too." Raven said quietly, flipping her safety flag back over and slinging her rifle back around her back. "Remind me to never get into a gunfight with you."

"Oh, Rae, I don't think that'll ever be a problem." she quickly cheered, closing her bolt and slinging her rifle around her back. She turned back to the boys, who'd done the same, and to little Cindy, who was hiding a little timidly behind Tai's legs. Ruby smiled down at her, stepping towards the adorable child. "Would you like Aunty Summer to carry you, sweetheart?"

Cindy nodded, stepping out around Tai and skipping over with her arms out. Ruby caught the small child under the armpits and hoisted her up, letting the girl fall into the crook of her elbow as she wrapped her little legs around her stomach. The scratching sound of her adorable little navy blue wind pants and less than matching but very stylish black suede coat was acceptable as she got comfortable on her hip, keeping the little black kitten in her hand the whole time.

"There, all the monsters are gone now, you're safe with us."

"Are we not gonna point out the fact that she's probably the greatest shot in the world or anything?" Qrow demanded, making her redden in the cheeks a little. What a compliment. "There's no way any human being could have made a shot like that."

"Hmm, you're right," she chided. "Maybe I'm some kind of eagle faunus, you don't know."

"Well... you'd have... different eyes, I assume, or like, feathers..."

"Maybe I _do_ have feathers. How would you know, you haven't seen me naked."

Qrow went red in the face. Ruby wiggled her eyebrows at the poor boy, who huffed and stormed off to the laughter of Taiyang and Cindy, who both thought it was most amusing.

"I have." Raven deadpanned.

Ruby turned to her, swinging the little girl around on her hip. "Now, Rae, we said we wouldn't talk about that to the boys."

"I'm just trying to show up my little brother, c'mon." she said with a smirk. "Besides, we live in the same room, the only thing separating us is that canvas divider. I assume that they assume we change together."

"We're twins!" Qrow yelled back from the distance.

"I was born first!" Raven yelled back.

"Two minutes doesn't count!"

"Yes it does!"

Ruby snickered, holding Cindy tight to her. Arguably, Raven was right. Even two minutes was enough to be considered older, and now that she knew this fact, she knew that she was gonna berate the hell out of poor Qrow about this.

"Alright, shall we break for lunch, guys?"

"Sure, why not."

/.../

"Okay, I understand the guns, and the gunpowder cartridges, and the holsters, and the leather drop pouches, and the weird stances..."

Ruby blinked at her partner, currently spoon-deep in her food. The small campfire she'd made was really only to cook over, as it was a balmy nineteen degrees out, but she was sitting pretty close to it anyways.

"Yeah?"

"But did you have to bring us _these?"_ she asked, holding up her package of lunch, flat-vacuumed in green plastic. "Like, what, is this even food? And what's this stand for, MRE?"

"Meals Rejected by the Enemy," quipped Tai, through a mouthful of steamed pea and carrot paste. Raven made a dry chuckle.

"Meals, Ready to Eat." Ruby corrected, picking up her coffee and sipping it to wash down the heavily-barbecue flavoured steak pieces. "If it's good enough for the brave men and women of the Armed Forces, it's good enough for us. Besides, you've got all the essentials of a hearty meal there. Red meat, vegetables, fruit, two slices of bread, a piece of brownie..."

"I'd hardly consider this _bread._ It's barely cardboard."

"It's fine, Raven," Qrow said, swallowing one of his rice cakes in one mouthful. "C'mon, we're fine. We haven't passed out yet. Just close your eyes and enjoy the fact that it's not fresh rabbit stew."

Raven frowned down at her lap and into her food.

"But I don't wanna," she pouted. "This is really gross. And how come _she_ doesn't have to eat one?" she grimaced, gesturing to Little Cindy, who was enjoying a ham sandwich that Ruby had made for her in the morning.

"Because she's five years old, Rae, I'm not gonna make her eat these, that would be cruel."

"I'm seventeen, and this is cruel."

Ruby levelled a fierce glare across the campfire at her. "Eat. Your. Food."

"What if I don't?"

"Well, I was gonna take us to _Chez Gaston_ after this mission, but you're on your way to ruining that, Rae-Rae."

The tall woman recoiled, shocked and disgusted. "You _wouldn't!_ I love that place!"

"Mmm, I might."

Without another word but _with_ another sour look, Raven pulled the cover off her MRE and dug in, frowning at her across the fire with every bite. Ruby just shook her head, and finished off her own, carefully closing the wrapper and putting it neatly away inside a large plastic sandwich bag with Tai's empty package as well. With Cindy finished her sandwich, she stood up and away from the fire, picking the small child up and into her arms again. The poor girl seemed sleepy, which was fair giving the time of day and the knowledge that Ozpin probably got her up at six in the morning to be at the school. In fact, she herself felt kinda tired after their very _very_ long trek into the woods. The only person who _didn't_ seem kind of tired was Taiyang, who was now standing off in the woods, eating the last of his pretzels. She joined him.

"Hey, big guy."

"Hey yourself." he said with a smile.

"How're you feeling?"

A shrug. "I'm alright. Just didn't want to get in the middle of that argument."

"Yeah, better that you don't. I'm afraid Raven's a child herself, sometimes. Very little foresight."

"Good thing she's damn beautiful, or I'd be inclined to agree with you."

"Yeah, you're right on that one, Blondie. She _is_ beautiful." She sighed, content, looking back over her shoulder at the gorgeous woman, currently flicking her hair back out of her face in a very conditioner-advertisement way.

Tai hummed in appreciation. "Yeah..."

Ruby turned back to him. "On that note, explain to me why you haven't enacted our _plan,_ yet. The longer you wait, the more she slips out of your court, man!"

He winced. "Well, it's not that easy, Summer. I have to build up to it. I'm not just gonna _pounce,_ I'm better than that."

"You got a problem with pouncing, Tai? She's an aggressive girl, she needs an intense approach. Some showmanship, some style. Some _balls,_ you know? Because I _know_ you have those, mister 'sleeps naked in a communal room'."

"Look, I'm sorry about that."

Ruby cut him off with a raised hand. "Don't. I don't wanna think about it. Just _use_ those things, man! You gotta go get her! C'mon!"

"I can't."

"What, moral aversion?"

"No, it's just..." he paused, scratching his head. "I'm scared, man."

" _Scared?!_ I'm sorry, what was it that Glynda called you on the first day? Horn-dog Xiao Long? Is that right?"

"Yeah, but that's different..."

"How?!"

"Well... Raven's scary..."

"And women like Glynda are not? I'm pretty sure she's _taller_ than Rae-Rae, which is a great feat of evolution, if I'm honest because holy shit..." She paused, looking to the girl in her arms. "Please excuse my language, honey. Don't tell Oscar."

Cindy made the gesture of zipping her lips shut. Ruby smiled.

"I won't tell, Auntie Summer." she said in her adorable soft, lilted voice. Her lisp was coming through as she spoke, and it very much was nearly making Ruby buckle from the cuteness.

"Well, that's very kind of you." she said, putting the child down and neatly brushing the tangles out of the curtain of black hair, pulling it back into two very small pigtails so it was out of her eyes. "So what do you think, do you think Auntie Raven and Uncle Tai should get married?"

"Wai-"

"Uh huh!" she said gleefully, nodding and beaming like a spotlight. And this was the woman who was supposed to have murdered her best friend and burnt the school to the ground? As if.

"See, Cindy's on my side, aren't you precious?" she tickled the little girl under her chin, making her giggle and recoil, trapping her fingers between chin and collar, only exaggerating the problem. "Now, Tai, I'm gonna say this once, because I love and respect you, you need to go over there _now,_ and get this over with."

"Now?! Are you insane? What am I supposed to even say?"

"Not a pickup line like you used on me, day one."

"Oh, come _on,_ that one was good."

"' _Is your name as pretty as your face_ ', right, try using that on someone you've lived with for a month and a half, see how well that goes."

"Yeah, no, I didn't think that one through."

"No, you didn't. Try the natural approach. Straight up say 'would you like to go to dinner', and that's all."

"But to dinner? Really? Isn't that like... me assuming she's into eating..."

Ruby paused, not quite sure what he meant by that. "Bud, I'm pretty sure _everyone_ likes eating..."

"No, that's not what I... like... more that I'd be assuming that she's a pig and gorges herself, or whatever..."

She squinted, as Cindy totted off after a butterfly for a few moments.

"Well... whatever point you were making, I'll just assume you were being obtuse, and tell you that she's a veritable connoisseur of fine foods. She's a _machine_ when it comes to eating, bud, and she'll out-eat you and I in a heartbeat."

"...What?"

"She's like, six-two and probably pushing a hundred and seventy pounds of muscle," she gestured to herself. "She's got a massively powerful metabolism, and the appetite to back it up. You're barely taller than she is, and she's got the same build as you, if just a _little_ more feminine."

"Are you saying I'm feminine?"

"I'm saying you're not man enough to ask her out. Because if you don't, _I_ will."

"Excuse me?"

"Just go. And now." She said, pointing fervently back over to the campfire. " _A_ _ussitôt_ _."_

"Alright, alright, jeez."

She more or less shoved him back, collecting Cindy in her arms again and carrying her back over to the campfire. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Hot had managed to let the fire go out in the five minutes she'd been gone, which honestly didn't surprise her that much.

"Rae, hon," she called, snagging her attention away from her brother for the briefest of moments. "Tai here's got something he wants to say to you."

She swallowed her mouthful of brownie. "Whassat?"

Tai, unfortunately, didn't say anything. He just stood there, this look of contemplation on his face like his brain was stuck in a loading screen. Ruby smacked him on the back, gesturing to Cindy to do the same. She did, just softer with her very small hands.

"C'mon, we haven't got all day, bud. That radio tower is not gonna repair itself, get your mouth in gear!"

"Look, I'm trying, okay?"

"Doesn't seem like it."

"Can you not?"

Raven had either lost interest or become annoyed, and she'd turned herself back around to face her brother. "Whatever, you guys are weird."

"Rae, Tai has something he'd like to ask you. Isn't that _right?"_ she smacked him again. "Qrow, would you mind giving us a minute?"

The boy shrugged and got up, stepping over the flamed-out fire pit and passed her and Tai. She stopped him for only a moment to hand Cindy to him. He seemed a little out of place with a child in his arms, with the whole grey jacket, skinny jeans, eyeliner, and edge that she was almost hesitant to let go of Cindy. But she needed to fix the Tai and Raven situation, so she relented internally and let him take her away from the circle. Somewhere behind her, she heard him opening _another_ lollipop.

"Okay, what do you want?" Raven asked, with that look in her eye like her lunch wasn't fully agreeing with her. Maybe the MREs were a bad idea after all. "'Cause Sunshine's right, we technically don't have all day."

Ruby caught Tai looking nervously over to her. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Go on, 'fraidy cat."

"I just..." he started. "...I was wondering if... you'd... with me 'n..."

Raven's interest was piqued, her eyebrows raised. Ruby folded her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, absentmindedly flipping her hair out of her face and biting her lip. How hard could this _possibly_ be? Asking someone out was easy, even if they _were_ abrasive, aggressive, and outwardly rude. She'd done it before, and she was a _lot_ less charismatic than Tai was. She wondered how she'd gotten that far anyways, without his charming good looks, perfect blond hair, rippling muscles...

She looked away, red in the face, having to fan away the heat under her collar.

"I'm listening." Raven's words distracted her from the impure thoughts that had flooded her vision.

Taiyang was distressed. "Well... you and I are... we could... would you..."

He was hopeless. Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "C'mon, you got it."

"You know what?" he huffed, crossing his arms. "No, screw this. It's not the right time. Screw you, Summer."

He spun around on his heels and stomped off, leaving a moron-shaped cloud of dust in his wake. Ruby's eye twitched, as she tried to unclench her muscles from the frustration. She sighed, dejected. How could he be so pretty yet so dense? She was _right_ in front of him! He had the perfect opportunity! It was brilliant! But now, all her planning was for naught. Perhaps a call to Hei would solve this. A bit of muscle from the Mob might convince him, or at the very least a lesson from The Prophet would tell him that this was the right path to take for the survival of mankind. Well, peoplekind. Can't forget the Faunus, of course.

"The hell was that?" her partner asked, standing up from her log.

"It's not..." she tried, sighing and letting her shoulders droop. "An idiot, who I thought was more capable than he is."

"What was he trying to ask me?"

"It's not important, Rae. If he ever mans up and asks, you'll know. _God,_ I wish he wasn't so... Taiyang."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

She gave a pity smile.

"Let's just say that when the two of you get married, we'll look back on today as one of those 'why's he so fuckin' stupid' moments. You feel me?"

Raven went _fully_ red in the face. "M-married, excuse me? That's not... no, what that's not gonna happen."

Ruby shrugged. "You're right, so far."

"Summer, I couldn't..."

"Time to enact plan S, then."

Raven gasped, placing a hand to her chest. "No, not plan S! Wait, what's plan S?"

"That thing we talked about last night."

She jumped back even further, nearly tripping backwards. "No, I can't!"

"Why fuckin' not?!" she almost yelled, before checking to see how far away Qrow and Cindy had gotten. Far enough to swear out loud. "What problem do you have with that?"

"It's... not the way people do things, right? _He_ has to ask _me,_ if I disrupt that process, we'll all be doomed. Doomed!"

"I appreciate your dramatic attitude, but we need to get your head in the game. Remember what I said."

"Right, the entire future depends on it. And somehow _I'm_ the dramatic one, Mere."

Ruby reached up and gently tapped the tall woman on the cheek with her hand. "We'll get you there, Darling. Just you be patient."

"I know, I know." she said with a rather endearing smile. "Just hope you can help me get to him before anyone else does."

Ruby's face twisted. "Who the hell else would?!"

"I dunno, there's plenty of people at school. That Glynda girl, you, Meyln across the hall... my stupid brother."

Ruby's thoughts took a minute to untangle from the pocket-full-of-headphones that Raven had just made turned them into.

"Your... brother... right, I don't think that's a possibility."

"You've seen the other side of the divider, they sleep naked!"

"They're just stupid boys, they'll-"

Raven brought her hand up to silence her. "Shush."

"... Don't _shush_ me, Ra-"

" _Shush!_ Did you feel that?"

There was a look of panic on her face. Ruby suddenly felt a sharp pang of fear shoot up her back, standing all the hairs on her neck on end.

"Feel what?"

"Something's not right..."

This time, she felt it. The ground rumbled under her boots. Not a huge amount, but a steady amount. Fair play to Raven, who's thinner, stylish leather riding boots probably had more feel than her own all-buckles steel-toed ones.

"No, that's an accurate assumption. What is that?"

"Not sure. Underground railroad?"

Ruby shook her head. "It's not even started construction yet I don't think. No, that's... that's not a machine..."

They looked nervously at each other, frozen in place. The rumbling got stronger. And faster. And _closer._ Ruby whipped her head around to Tai, Qrow and Cindy. They too were now huddled together, searching around for what could possibly be making that noise. Poor Cindy looked terrified. Ruby's breath caught in her throat.

Then, with a mighty roar, _it_ burst from the ground.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"What the _fuck_ is that thing?!" Raven screamed,

"I have no _fucking_ idea!" Ruby screamed back, as they sprinted through the woods. "Just keep running!"

She turned to look over her shoulder. She gasped, her eyes tearing up and her throat convulsing. It was just _teeth._ Forty-five feet around of teeth. Nothing but mouth, with rows and rows of body-length teeth and it was coming towards them like a locomotive. She had to stop looking, as it was starting to get closer. Taiyang was just steps ahead of them, holding Little Cindy in his brawny arms with her eyes covered as he too was booking it as fast as humanly possible. The only one of them brave enough at the moment to face the _thing_ was Qrow, who had his sword bent over at the hilt and was taking pot shots with the low-power dust rounds stored within.

Even with enhanced speed, she could only run so fast, and with the speed the _thing_ was bearing down on them, she'd leave her comrades behind. And that was inexcusable and unforgivable.

"Tai, give me Cindy!" she yelled, making him turn. "I can get her to safety!"

"Right!"

"You three focus on drawing it's attention away from me!"

The hand-off was difficult, as it was to be expected when giving and receiving a small child while also running away from a giant _something_ at full speed, through a forest covered with roots and fallen trees.

"Forget the guns! Semblances and regular weapons!"

"Got it!" Qrow and Raven shouted in unison, their rifles clattering to the ground, to be quickly engulfed by the turgid wave of dirt that _it_ was throwing up in front of its maw. Raven stripped off her jacket as well, letting her arms free.

"I'll be back in a second!"

She turned, holding Cindy securely under her bum and behind her head. She'd never tried using her semblance while holding on to another person except for one time with Weiss, and that had ended with her accidentally letting go and punting her into a pillar on the Beacon grounds, completely depleting her aura in one hit. But that's what happens when you get tossed into a wall at close to the speed of sound. There was no room for mistakes this time, however. This time it would have to be perfect.

Every time she used her semblance it hurt. Moving through the air at such a speed _hurt,_ just from the wind buffeting alone. But the pain in her muscles was intense. Mind rupturing intense pain. Moving her legs so fast that she could literally scale vertical walls and effectively float through the air was literally tearing the muscles from the tendons and it _hurt._ The furthest she'd ever run using her semblance was no more than the length around a running track, but that seemed like it wouldn't be enough. She'd have to _way_ over extend herself. But she had to _try._

She broke off, and hit the semblance, curling herself forward over Cindy and hugging her tight. Pain _ripped_ through her body as she started to demand speed from her body. The pain of each footfall soared up her legs from her feet, searing through her aura as it desperately tried to repair the damage she was causing to herself. But none of that mattered, as the sound of the _thing_ was getting quieter and quieter behind her.

There was a pop. Then all the sound when away, including the sound of her own heart beating. Her eyes were watering so badly that she couldn't see. This was far enough.

She let up, ceasing her run. She had to turn around and let herself fall backwards onto the ground. The problem with stopping quickly while holding something in her arms was that the momentum of her own body may have stopped, but the fifty-five pound weight in her arms hadn't. So she caught Cindy as she fell, and they slid through the dirt for a second, her cape's buckle snapping open and falling off her neck as she did. The soft moss caught them and chafed quite a lot of the back of her dress off and frayed the material. They thumped to a stop against a large rock.

"Cindy, honey, are you alright?" she quickly lifted the girl off her chest and wiped the tears out of her reddened eyes.

"Uh-huh-" she sputtered. The pain in her little voice was only from the force of the wind on her face, her cheeks pink and bruised from some loose foliage that must have hit her.

Ruby sat up and stood Cindy up, brushing her off and trying to control her breathing. The poor child was covered in sticks and leaves, no doubt from all the dirt she'd just kicked up. The roaring of the _thing_ off in the distance made them both shiver.

"Honey, I need you to stay here, can you do that for me?"

Cindy sniffled. "Uh huh."

"You'll be safe right here, if you need me you can scream and I'll come running, okay?"

"Okay."

Ruby got onto her knees, and reached for the holster on her hip. With a pop of the button snap, she pulled the nickel-plated 1911 out and racked the slide, chambering one of the big forty-five rounds with a metallic ringing. She spun it around in her hands and pointed the grip in Little Cindy's direction.

"Here, take this," she shuddered. "Do you know how to use one of these?"

"Uncle Oscar said guns are unsafe for little girls…"

"It's perfectly safe, darling. If you find yourself in danger, just point this end at whatever is hurting you and pull the trigger." she tapped the front sight of the gun, wrapping both of the little girl's hands around the big grip. She knew she didn't have time to properly explain gun safety to Cindy, that this would have to suffice. "Just never point it at yourself, and don't point it at any people, okay? Can you do this?"

She was crying, but gripping the gun quite securely and nodding. Ruby shook her head, regretting waking up in the morning, and pulled Little Cindy's head towards herself and smooched her on the top of her hair.

"Stay here, and keep out of sight. I'll be right back, I promise."

"Okay, Auntie Summer."

She didn't want to leave the child alone in a Grimm-infested forest. She really didn't. But if she didn't get back to her friends, they'd probably die. And that was also not okay to her. The rock and hard place she was stuck between felt significantly bigger and heavier than she'd experienced thus far. But she _had_ to get back to the group. Cindy would be alright.

She turned and took off again, blistering her way back through the foliage and brush, _towards_ the yelling and roaring from her comrades and the _thing._ She pulled her axe off her back and popped the cylinder open, forcing the dust cartridges out and into her belt, filling them instead with the remaining seven-nine-two rifle rounds from her belt. She flicked her wrist and shut the cylinder, locking it into place. The incredibly short twelve-inch _smooth bore_ barrel would mean she'd have to get really close to her target as she effectively had no range whatsoever. But they'd be significantly more effective than her usual explosive dust rounds.

At this point, she'd made it back to her team, who were standing in a clearing, panting from the exertion.

"Where'd it go?!"

Raven pointed downward, using her katana to hold herself up.

"Back under. Just a moment ago."

Ruby blinked. "Back under?!"

"Uh huh." Tai wheezed, pulling his hammer off his back and thumping it into the ground.

Ruby looked down, acutely aware of the vibrations coming back up through the soil.

"High ground! _Now!"_

It wasn't a moment too late, either. She spun on spot, grabbing Taiyang by the wrist and _fired_ up the closest tree, a solid redwood with plenty of overhanging branches. Qrow and Raven had done the same, their much limberer legs propelling them up the opposite tree, but not nearly as quickly.

Then _it_ burst from the ground again, ripping all the ground to pieces and shattering the roots of the trees that were circling the clearing, nearly knocking them out of their roosts.

"Shit!"

The giant maw of death screamed up at them, the full wind of the foul breath hitting her and making her want to throw up again.

"Fire!" she scream, aiming her axe down at the teeth and squeezing the heavy trigger.

Qrow started a barrage from his side of the clearing, unloading a full magazine of fiery dust rounds into the open and horrific-smelling mouth, ricocheting off the massive teeth. Tai and Raven unloaded their 1911s as fast as they could, but even the heavy forty-fives had such a minimal effect on the tonnes and tonnes of enamel and ivory, pulsating with each roar and guttural moan. Even the armour-piercing seven-nine-two's had no effect, barely chipping them.

"What the hell do we do?!" Tai screamed over the roar of the mouth.

"I don't even know what that thing is!"

"It's some kind of giant snake!"

"Fuck!"

Her heart was pounding almost out of her chest. They were pretty trapped. But it did give her time to formulate a plan.

The beast was clearly some kind of Grimm, as the outside of its disgusting mouth was ringed in thick, white armour plating. She couldn't see any eyes, but she was fairly certain that they were red and glowing. The mouth and seventy feet of 'body' sticking out of the ground writhed in screaming violence, slamming itself into the trees that imprisoned it, trying to shake them down into its giant ugly teeth. It took every ounce of effort to tear her vision away from the black hole of throat that was trying to suck them in and actually look around and observe her surroundings. Off in the distance was a big open field, where the forest ended and the countryside began. That would make fighting such a large creature both easier and more difficult, as the open land would allow them to spread out and attack from more angles, but it also would allow this burrowing behemoth to ambush them from below.

"If we can make it to that field, we can get it out into the open!"

"How's that supposed to fuckin' help?!" Qrow demanded from his tree.

"Look, you can either trust me, or jump in there!" she fired back while pointing to the swirling pool of teeth, her face ablaze. How dare he question her while they were standing in the position they'd found themselves in.

He shrugged, his sword folding back into the upright position. "Alright."

"Wait, Qro-!"

He jumped of his tree. All the blood drained from her face as she watched him fall away and towards the teeth. There was nothing she could do to stop him. Yes, she could have jumped for him and probably caught him mid-air, but then they'd both land in those massive person-sized teeth. Raven screamed as she watched her brother land on one of them, feet side down.

With a flourish, he dug his sword into the flesh of the Grimm's mouth, right between the tooth and the gum. He jumped sideways, out of the beast's mouth using his blade as a hand-hold. With a colossal _pop,_ the tooth came out of the jaw, falling into and down the deep, sucking throat as he fell out of the mouth and down to the ground again, sliding sideways along the beast's 'neck'.

The monster _screamed,_ whining a high-pitched awful sound as acrid black blood started to _pour_ from the open wound in an intense fountain into its own mouth. It started to thrash quite violently, slamming into the surrounding trees, knocking the shorter ones clean out of the ground for a few agonizing moments as they desperately tried to hold onto the trees they were in. It was a struggle, to be honest.

It stopped struggling, its massive mouth going quiet for a second as the entire forest went silent. She realized at this moment that her ears were ringing from the reverberation of the beast's calling. It's giant maw hinged at four places as it closed very slowly, all of the rows of teeth retracting into the back of its throat as its 'lips' came together in four places as it started to retract into the ground. Its eyes were what caught her the most by surprise. All _hundred_ of them, completely surrounding the mouth in a full circle, glowing a deep, menacing red.

On impulse, she raised her axe and fired, landing a solid shot into one of the hundred eyes. The beast winced, but didn't retract any faster, making only a slow, low rumble from somewhere in its throat. Unfortunately, Qrow caught on to this method far too quickly, and tossed his sword tip first at one of the larger eyes that had come down to his level. _That_ got its attention. The mouth opened again, the same guttural moan pierced out, shocking her to her core. The beast flexed, turning in Qrow's direction and ripping through the ground in his direction.

"Oh, _fuck!"_ he yelled, turning and sprinting off, in the direction of the open field. "Oh shit, oh fuck!"

The monster lifted itself out of the hole again, slowly at first, then picking up speed as more and more of its body becoming visible. It fell sideways in the direction of Qrow, biting into the ground behind him and beginning chase. Ruby quickly dove her hand into the pocket on the side of her dress for her phone, pulling it open and slamming her fingers into the screen and pulling up her contacts. She spun through until she landed on one name in particular. Her Grimm Studies TA. The line rang for a moment.

" _Summer! How's the hunt?_ " came the innocent voice.

"Peter! Look at this!" she yelled, pointing her phone at the large moving mass of body, turning on the camera. "What the fuck is this thing?!"

There was a pause. The monster deafened them again with a scream.

" _What the fuck is that thing?!"_

"That's what I'm asking!" she yelled back. "Taiyang, go after them!"

"Right!" he lit his hammer, and dropped out of the tree, running alongside the huge moving _thing._

" _Is that a giant worm?!"_

"How the _fuck_ should I know, _you're_ the Grimm expert!"

" _I've never seen something like that before, you need to evacuate, right fucking now!"_

Never before had she heard a teacher swear so often or so prolifically. It was kind of frightening that this Grimm was instilling such a visceral response from someone she'd seen petting a chained-up Beowolf in class. This was a man with no fear, and here he was. Fearful.

"We can't just _leave_ this thing in the forest, Peter!"

" _We can call the army! Just get yourselves and Cinder out of there,_ NOW _!"_

"But-"

" _NO! Right now! I'm on my way with the Bullhead. meet me in the field just north of your position! Five minutes!"_

"Uh… That's where the Grimm's going, too…"

He yelled something nondescript and hung up. She put her phone back into her pocket and fired the remaining rounds into the body of the Grimm as it pulled itself out of the hold, the armour barely cracking under even the real-steel gunpowder cartridges that would normally cut through solid concrete. This wasn't a Grimm they could beat. Not with the tools they had. Even the ludicrously sharp blade on her axe would probably be ineffective against the weathered and leathery skin that interposed the heavy, thick armour.

"What do we do?!" Raven yelled from her tree.

"I have no idea!" she yelled back. "Survive for five minutes, then hopefully get the fuck out of here!"

"Survive?!"

She shrugged. "That's all I've got so far!"

"Fucking shit!"

The end of the massive Grimm's body finally came out of the ground, ending in a long, tapered and pointed tail covered in eight foot long spikes that ran up along the seams of its body.

"C'mon! We've got to keep them alive for a little bit longer!"

"Fuck, man!"

They both jumped from their trees, dashing into the _crevice_ carved out by the huge Grimm's movement over the ground and following along behind its violently swinging tail. They had to dodge the falling trees and branches that it knocked down in its quest to hunt down Qrow. The smell on singed flesh from Tai's burning hammer was a lot grosser than she was expecting, and it burned through her nose and into her eyes, making it hard to run after the substantially fast behemoth.

"We can't hurt it!" Ruby yelled, emptying the rest of her rounds into the tail, barely making a dent in the thick armour plating. She popped the cylinder out on her weapon and cycled out the spent casings, filling it back up with the fire dust rounds in her drop pouch. Two longs plumes of flame spat out from the end of her axe, licking around the base of the beast's spiky tail. "It heals faster than we can damage it with what we have!"

"It must have _some_ kind of weakness!"

"Well, I assume in its mouth, but I'm not going anywhere near that fuckin' thing!"

"Fair point!"

"Yeah, I- _Look out!"_

Out of nowhere, the tail of the worm started to spew thick, black pools of liquid with the consistency of tar at them, making them both duck and roll as the foul-smelling goop flew over their heads.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Grimm juice!"

" _What?!"_

Two more trails of goo spewed out, landing between them and the tail with two plumes of acrid smoke as well. Two giant Beowulves spawned almost instantly, exactly in the path they were running. Ruby's heart stopped, but she had no time to gasp or react with any kind of sense since she was bearing down so fast. She moved on instinct, raising her axe above her head and swiped down, catching the beast's face right between its ears, splitting the head cleanly in two. Blood splattered into her face and into her mouth, absolutely drenching her as she basically ran through a downpour of gore. She caught herself staring at her partner, who had also run her blade through her target, bursting through the wash of blood almost in slow motion, her face gorgeously soaked in the black oily blood. Even covered in a Grimm's entrails, Ruby had to admit that Raven was beautiful.

"Three more!" Raven yelled, dragging her back to reality.

"Right!"

A Beowulf, a Beringel, and fat Boarbatusk spawned from the pools ahead of them, screaming their bellowing roars to the sky as their existences started. Ruby was quick to remedy them, putting her axe into the side of the Boarbatusk's head so hard she nearly dislocated her shoulder. The beast's roar ended halfway out of its mouth as its skull shattered into its brain in a thousand tiny pieces. With a twist of her wrist, the blade came free with a spurt of blood and cerebrospinal fluid as she brought the handle back into her grip. Raven did her best _Samurai of The North_ impression, cleaving the head of the Beowulf off in one fell swoop with a deft dive. It was a little heart-wrenching to head the roar of the animal start and then cut off suddenly, after only existing for a few seconds.

"Shoulder!" Ruby shouted.

"Go!" Raven shouted back.

With a jump, she planted her left foot onto Raven's right shoulder, and used it as a mobile springboard to gain some substantial height. Necessary when the Grimm Beringel stood a full eleven feet tall at the shoulders, its big ugly head extending it up to thirteen feet. This was the first time Ruby had seen a Beringel without any battle scars on its face, as they were notoriously territorial and typically had missing eyes and teeth. Not that it would matter for very much longer. She roared back at it, spittle and saliva flying into her face as its jaw unhinged. With a mighty swing downwards, she caught the beast on the far side of its neck and cleaved down and across. The _fanatically_ sharp blade on her axe dug easily through the flesh and thick neck muscles, coming out of the torso underneath the beast's right armpit. Its windpipe filled quickly with blood and gurgled the bellow to silence, its head and entire right arm falling away as she tumbled to the ground and rolled back onto her feet.

"Ho! Nice shot, Mere!"

"This thing is _so_ much better than my last weapon, holy _fuck_!"

"Don't count your blessings just yet!"

And another pyre of the black liquid Grimm spurt out in their direction. Unfortunately, this one started to solidify above the ground, forming into the large, snake-like head of the fearsome Taijitu. Or, one of the heads. Since it was still covered in the black goo, they couldn't tell if it was the black end or the white end, but it didn't matter. The snake mouth opened, gigantic fangs descending from the top of its mouth and glimmering in the light, _dripping_ with venom. Ruby yelled at the top of her lungs, holding her blade sideways and sprinting straight at the open mouth of the massive snake. Raven took up residence at her side, her katana at the ready, screaming just the same.

"Split!" she yelled at the last second. They separated, slamming their blades into the corners of the snake's mouth, digging into the flesh and dashing down its flanks, pulling them through the body and bisecting it top to bottom.

The snake hiss-screamed in agony as they reached its lungs, pulling out and avoiding the spray from the thirty-foot long slices in each side of the body. It died before it it had even finished starting to exist, slumping to the ground and sliding away behind them.

"That's so disgusting!"

"They live and they die, Rae! Sometimes that's just how it happens!"

"I hate this!"

"Yeah, but you're good at it! Hold on tight!"

"Wait, what?!"

Ruby tucked her axe back around to its latch on her back, and reached out for Raven. She placed a hand on her back and one around her left bicep, making sure she had a good hold. With a huff, she sped up her sprinting in an instant, easily doubling their speed. She was almost completely out of steam, but they were almost caught up to the back of the giant worm. Only a few feet further.

"Summer! Slow down!"

"Grab on to the tail!"

" _Aaaahhh!"_

With a final push, she shoved Raven up and onto the end of the giant worm, making sure she had a good enough grip on one of huge protruding spikes. Her foot caught on something on the ground mid-step, and she almost tumbled forward onto her face at fifty kilometres an hour. Her hand was caught by Raven, who dragged her up and onto the tail with her.

"Thanks!"

"Don't worry about it!" she panted, wiping off her brow. "Now what?!"

"C'mon!"

Within a matter of moments, they'd ran up the length of the massive Grimm to the spot just behind its ring of eyes. As it turned out, running on the top of a moving Grimm was substantially harder than running along the top of a moving train. There was no solid place to put their feet, as everything was moving and pulsating armour plating and big ugly spikes.

"Gimme your sword!" Ruby yelled, putting out her hand.

Raven gave her a look, but pulled it out and handed her the katana handle-first. Ruby spun it in her fingers and held it up above her head with the blade pointing downward.

"What are you planning?!"

"Something _really_ stupid! Hold on to something, and tightly!"

Ruby plunged the sword down and into one of the Grimm's huge eyes, sinking it down almost to the hilt. The beast _bellowed_ with all its might, shaking violently as its eyelids tried to close around the eviscerated eye. Down in front of the giant sucking mouth, Qrow was still sprinting away at full tilt, not looking even remotely out of breath. To be fair to them, he wasn't fighting Grimm that were flying at him and running through the crevice being carved out of the ground. Somehow, the giant worm had lost interest in Qrow and was straying off the path behind him. Ruby twisted the sword in its eye hard to the right.

" _Whoa!"_

The worm immediately veered off. To the right side. She twisted back to the left. The worm veered left.

"Holy shit!"

"Are you _controlling_ it?!"

"Haa!"

She gave it another twist to the left, steering the huge Grimm out of the forest through a line of massive trees, which buckled out of the way like they were twigs. Miles and miles of open farmland spread out in front of her and her new mount. They cut through the yellow plumes of wheat, tossing up huge clouds of dust and wheat seeds like a boat might cut through the surf.

"Where are we going?!"

Ruby had to shield her eyes from the onslaught of wheat seeds. "I don't know, hopefully over a cliff or something!"

" _We're still aboard!"_

"Yeah, I'm sure we'll be fine!"

"Summer, look!"

She glanced over her shoulder. Her heart skipped, seeing literally the last thing she'd have expected to see.

" _Finally!"_

Soaring over the field behind them, glowing in the daylight, was the Bullhead that had dropped them off in the morning with a very frightened Peter behind the controls. She watched the weapon hatches under the cockpit open and drop out the two huge .50 calibre machine guns.

"Time to bail!" Ruby yelled, yanking the katana out of the worm's eye. She turned and lept, her hand crushed down on Raven's wrist, off the top of the worm and down and to the ground. The forty-foot fall was a lot further now that she was falling, but all of her screaming thoughts in her head were silenced quickly by the ripping sound of the Bullhead's machine guns lighting off and filling the worm with tonnes of hot lead.

Raven yelped in pain as they hit the ground, landing directly on her ankle and rolling onto her side. Ruby had barely gotten them out of the motive path of the gigantic beast, landing awkwardly on her shoulder, feeling the violent impact directly punching through her body as she slid through the muddy field. The Worm continued on, getting absolutely riddle with bullets, spilling its blood out of each hole.

" _Fuck!"_ Raven cried, grabbing at her food. "My _fucking_ ankle!"

"You okay?!"

" _No!_ I think I broke it!"

"Shit!" Ruby dove to her side, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. "Fuck, just your luck."

"Fucking Qrow."

"Hey, don't drag your brother into this, Raven. We need to get you to safe-"

She was cut off by the sky filling with a black ominous presence. She looked up to the sky, gasping as a _massive_ Nevermore sprouted from the pools of oily blood the Worm was leaving behind. It caw'd a mighty roar to the sky, making them both wince.

"Oh you've gotta be fucking kidding me."

"I hate this! I want to go home!" Raven cried, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her face to hers. "Why did we agree to this?!"

"This was supposed to be a simple supply run to a radio tower, Rae! If I knew this was gonna happen, I'd have said no! Wait, where's it going, we're right h-" she paused, her face turning white as she traced its flight path. " _CINDER!"_

The massive bird flapped its big ugly wings, floating through the air towards the place she'd left the little girl. Ruby stood up and _exploded_ forward, back towards the forest and Little Cindy, hoping desperately she had enough aura left to make it there before the huge bird. This was the point that she realized that there was an entire _army_ of Grimm between her and the forest, all having spawned from the pools of blood left behind by the Worm. This was bad. She could feel it in her stomach, in her head, in her _lungs._

"NO!"

Her eyes ignited before she could react, absolutely blinding her as she cranked forward, swinging her axe wildly, doing double duty decapitating living Grimm and smashing solidified Grimm statues in her path as she made a beeline for the woods. Nothing in the entire world was going to stop her, not even air itself as she once again burst through the sound barrier with a resonating _pop,_ blowing out her eardrums and making her tear up. Her face burned as she drove her body _through_ the Grimm in her way, vaporizing all of the solidified Beowulves and Creeps that stood before her.

As she smashed through the line of trees again, the forest became a blur around her. A green and brown smelly blur. Everything from pollen to aerosolized Grimm blood forced its way up her nose and into her lungs, making her already aching chest ten times worse. It was a good thing she carried an axe as a weapon, since she wouldn't have been able to get through the fallen tree that approached her at eight-hundred miles an hour with a scythe or anything not resembling the woodsman's axe she was swinging wildly before her.

" _Cindy!"_

She finally ran out of aura mere feet from the clearing she'd left the poor girl in, slowing down and tripping over herself and sliding through the mud again. When she lifted her head up, she screamed. The spot against the rock she'd left Little Cindy in was empty, save for a shiny handygun, its slide locked back and a pile of spent casings next to it. Her heart skipped as she searched around for the missing child. There was, however, a large and ever growing congregation of Grimm about twenty feet to her right, surrounding a fallen log. They were scratching at it and bellowing deeply, trying to get inside.

" _Auntie Summer! Help!"_ came a distant and _terrified_ scream.

" _AAAARRGH!"_

The red mist descended. Through the legs of the Grimm she could see a sheet of quivering white underneath the felled log. Her cape, and a scared little girl hiding beneath it. She tried desperately to light her eyes again, but they wouldn't go. Her aura had been expended in the sprint over, as double-teaming both her semblance and her power had completely drained her of ability. All that was left was her body. And her muscles. With a crick of her neck she sprung forward.

" _Move!"_ She demanded, landing just behind the circle of Grimm and a particularly large Beowulf. "Before I _make you!"_

She slammed her blade into the animal's side and yanked backwards, ripping its stomach open and pulling quite a considerable length of large intestine out with it. The beast crumpled, howling as it fell, before being silenced with a pointed slash into the back of its neck. She grabbed the next one by its tail, pulling it backwards as it yelped in pain. It fell to its back, exposing its sensitive and fleshy throat. Once again, the axe made short work of severing the beast's trachea and snapping the neck, letting it bleed out into itself. None of the Grimm even noticed her approaching, let alone murdering their comrades.

She screamed again at their hairy and armoured backs.

A Boarbatusk was the next in line. She grabbed one of its curled tusks and yanked its face away from the felled tree, hard enough that she heard bone crack. With a kick to its jaw, the tusk came free along with a substantial volume of blood pouring out onto her boots. Before the pig had a chance to even _attempt_ a scream, she drove the tusk into its right eye and pushed it deep, watching the other eye roll backwards as brain function ceased. It dropped to the ground, dead. There was no time to waste, and a ever-growing crowd of Grimm to destroy, and Ruby planned on making each and every one suffer. She climbed up the back of another Beowulf, using its armour plating as handholds and foot pegs and brought herself up to the animal's left shoulder. It's left eye briefly flicked over to her, widening. Almost like it felt _fear_ for a moment.

" _Remember me!"_ she muttered, her voice hoarse.

She didn't let it react. She reached her right hand over the animal's nose and grabbed it under its upper teeth, and slammed her left hand over its lower jaw. A bark started somewhere in the beast's throat. She ended it very swiftly, pulling her hands apart and _destroying_ the Beowulf's jaw, ripping its cheeks apart with a disgusting sinew-y snapping noise. With a mighty pull, the two pieces came apart, breaking every tendon along the way with an elastic _crack._ It tried to cry out in pain, but she didn't let it, tossing the jaw into the dirt and reaching back for the beast's skull, spinning it harshly towards herself until the spine, along with the majority of the nervous system, severed loudly.

"Cindy, I'm comi-" she tried to yell.

But she couldn't.

Out of nowhere, a gigantic explosion went off almost right in her face. She, along with the entire congregation of Grimm, was suddenly flung backwards as a massive fireball plumed out from under the tree. Her back collided with the huge rock, whatever remained of her aura stopping her body from breaking in two, but succeeded in knocking all the wind out of her as she fell back down to the ground.

"What th-"

The flames engulfed the area again, blasting her in the face and singeing off the front of her dress, leaving the fire-retardant tank top underneath exposed and setting her on fire. She screamed through the pain, rolling over to protect her face in her hands until the blaze stopped. And it did stop after a second, leaving her crumpled and burnt. She painfully rolled over, padding off her dress and extinguishing the remaining flames that were destroying the soft cotton. All that was left of her dress was the row of belts and the frilly skirt half, and her boots. Not even her socks remained, and all the rubber buckles from her equipment bags had melted off and were now all over the ground.

Ruby struggled to get up. Surrounding her was an absolute _graveyard_ of burnt Grimm corpses, slowly dissolving and absolutely _steaming_ with that disgusting burning flesh smell. She choked, rubbing the smoke out of her eyes. As soon as she could see again, she desperately tried to look for Little Cindy in the clearing.

"Cinder!"

The little girl was sitting in the middle of the clearing, surrounded by a circle of black soot and destroyed Grimm. The log she'd been hiding under had been decimated, and the remains of it were slowly burning off to the sides. Her little hands were up in front of her, blistered and burned and tears streaming down her face. The white cape was dressed around her shoulders, covered in soot and singed at the ends. Ruby dashed over and collected the child in her arms, hugging her into her chest and gently caressing her hair. It was full of soot.

"Shushhh, shhhhh, it's okay, it's okay honey…"

She tried to calm the blubbering child, who was so obviously in pain from the burns on her hands. Ruby felt weirdly _proud_ that the little girl had unlocked her semblance, just not so much because of how violent the method was.

"It's okay, I'm here, I'm he-"

 _ **THUD**_

The ground shook. The sound of feathers settling rang out over her shoulder. Giant talons sliced into the ground.

"No…"

She turned her head, keeping Cindy's face pressed into her chest and keeping her ignorant. She tried not to gasp as she came face to face with a _giant_ Nevermore, its big ugly beak twitching left and right as it examined her. It's face disappeared under its wing for a moment, preening out one of the huge, serrated feathers from under its arm. It's face came back around, the beak separated and the rows of teeth inside glimmering in the light. She shivered.

"Not today…"

The beak opened all the way as the bird charged forward. She knew she couldn't survive a trip through the teeth, not with the amount of aura she didn't have left. Cindy probably had enough to survive one solid chomp, if she had enough protection. So Ruby closed her eyes and turned away, hugging the girl close and doing her best to protect her. There was no way she could run away from the Grimm this time. And especially not with Little Cindy in her arms. With no semblance left and completely out of stamina she was useless. She was no more than a fleshy shield.

She waited for the pain.

"I'm sorry…"

But the pain didn't come

What _did_ come was a hand on the back of her neck, gently caressing for a second. It comforted her. To know that someone cared in her final moments. But then the hand turned, and gripped down on the collar of her tank top, fisting quite a lot of the fabric. And then the hand _yanked._

"Waa-!"

She sailed backwards, Cindy in her arms, being dragged backwards basically by her collar tightening up around her throat and choking her out. The hand let go after a second and she collided with the ground again, sliding backwards.

" _Close it!"_ someone screamed.

A piercing cry from the Nevermore rang out, being instantly silenced by a disturbing humming sound from just in front of her. She opened her eyes.

"They're okay! Tai, get them to the Bullhead!"

The massive head of the Nevermore was sitting at her feet, without its body, bleeding into the field out of both ends. Ruby sputtered. Tai grabbed her under the arms and pulled her to her feet with ease, turning her around and guiding her to the hovering machine. Raven was being held up by her brother, her katana outstretched and glowing red. It took Ruby a moment to realize she'd just been pulled through a _portal,_ and then that very portal had just been used to decapitate a Nevermore. An exhausted chuckle made it out of her mouth, her brain delirious and pretty shot.

"How many times are we gonna cut off one of those heads…" her loopy thoughts were coming out as she was shunted into a seat in the Bullhead, Taiyang pulling the harness over her chest and latching it closed. He gently took Cindy out of her arms and put her in her own seat, dabbing the tears out of her eyes with some tissues.

Qrow had to lift his sister up to Tai, her ankle bent at an awkward angle and her face a complete wash of pain and anguish. She too was put into a seat and buckled in place. The Bullhead's engines started to spool up as they began to gain altitude. Qrow pulled himself in and grabbed one of the overhead handles in the load bay, checking back out the door as they started to fly away from the field.

"That was a disaster…" Ruby mumbled.

"Nah, it's fine!" Tai chipped. "The giant worm's dead, so that forest is now empty of Grimm! Think positive!"

She put her hands to her face. "I'm sorry guys… I'm a bad leader…"

"Hey." Raven said from her side. Ruby turned.

Raven slapped her.

"No. You're not. Your planning got us out of there with everyone's lives intact. Don't sell yourself so fucking short, Summer."

Ruby started to cry. "I'm sorry…"

Even through the pain, Raven put her arm over both her and Cindy, pulling them as close as she could through the harnesses.

"It's okay. Now we know. Never go Grimm Hunting with a psychopath for a teacher."

Ruby chuckled, snot dripping from her face.

"Okay, okay."

"Ugh, I can't believe I broke my stupid leg." she groaned, pulling her knee up to her chest.

"Hey, don't overexert yourself, dummy." Tai scolded, pointing an accusatory finger in her direction."

Raven reddened.

"Guys, let's not." Qrow finished. He'd gotten his sword back from the giant worm's eye, and it was still dripping onto the floor of the Bullhead. "Let's just be glad we're all okay, okay?"

"I'm sorry, guys. I'll understand if you think slightly less of me."

"Bitch, what did I _just_ say?" Raven almost roared.

"I made bad decisions, Raven. Things I can't take back and I can't move on from. I put everyone I love in danger for my own goals and morals. I pushed you guys too hard."

"Yeah, but without you we'd have panicked and probably _died,_ Summer! Please, _please_ understand that. You're crucial to us."

Ruby shook her head, hair falling into her face.

"All I do is make things worse. I'm a burden of bad luck."

Qrow bopped her in the shoulder. "Actually, that's my job."

She let out a pitiful chuckle.

"You guys shouldn't…. compare yourselves to me."

"You're right, we could never do the kinds of things you do, Sunshine."

Ruby lifted her head up, and looked over at her partner. She had the most honest and forgiving smile she'd ever seen, beaming over at her in the sunlight.

"Of course you cou-"

"I certainly could never run that fast. Or punch as hard as you could. Or be brave enough to put my hands anywhere _near_ a Grimm's mouth. You make us look like children."

"I'm sorry-"

"That was not an attack of character, Summer, that was a compliment."

"Oh…"

Raven rubbed her shoulder.

"Killing Grimm is what you're good at. Saving lives is what you're good at. And what you did out there today was both of those things. I'm proud of you, Summer."

Ruby felt her heart lifting.

"That's the first time you've said that, Rae."

"It took a lot of convincing. A committee effort. But you got through to me. You kept me alive. And we all appreciate that."

"But your leg-"

"Fuck my leg. It'll heal."

Ruby smiled.

"Alright. I get your point."

"You better. Because you promised me dinner at _Chez Gaston,_ and if you don't deliver, I'm rescinding my proudness."

A proper laugh.

"Okay, Fine. I'll buy you dinner."

"Thank _youuuu."_

Ruby rolled her eyes with a smile.

Raven _could_ be pretty charming sometimes.

And that was good.

"Please watch your language around Cindy from now on, though."

"Sorry."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

She examined her figure in the mirror. Bruised, scarred, beaten, dirty. There wasn't a clean square inch of skin that didn't have some kind of damage on it. Everything was black and blue, every cut was still in the process of scabbing over, and by _god_ did everything hurt. Every joint, every muscle, every bone. All of it hurt. At this moment she was sure that if she could, she would have all of her skeleton extracted and massaged bone by bone until everything felt normal again. She was unsure if it was even physically _safe_ to have this many injuries in one body. Wasn't this effectively massive internal hemorrhaging?

"Ow…" she winced, slowly turning in place. Her back ached oh so dearly as she bent over the bathtub and turned the faucet on. "Everything hurts."

The hot water started to pour into the deep clawfoot tub, the steam billowing upwards and out the open window. She had no problem being naked with the window open, as the bathroom was high enough up and facing the forest, where no student or faculty could be to observe her. Besides, it was a nice enough day out and she didn't _really_ care since she was in so much pain. This bath was gonna be _sublime._ She tried to roll out a knot in her shoulder, but every movement stung and made her want to fall over and collapse onto the floor and pass out. Being a Huntress _sucked_ for what it did to her body.

"Where's the…"

She pulled open the cupboard under the sink, sorting through the bottles and rolls of toilet paper. Her hand found the familiar feminine curves of one particular green one.

"Ah, there we are."

She pulled it out, popped the lid off, and proceeded to pour a fairly large dollop of the green goo into the tub, just under the faucet. Almost immediately the smell of green apples started to emanate from the rolling bath water, rising up with the steam up to the ceiling and into her sinuses. She exhaled, letting the freedom of nudity overcome her. It was just such a wonderful feeling, this openness she felt, right then and there in the bathroom. No class, no problems, no Grimm, and certainly no _clothing._ It was beautiful. She moved over to the low shelf next to the tub where her duffle bag sat open with her clothes in it.

"Oof."

She winced as she bent over the bag, rifling through it for her candles. They'd fallen all the way down to the bottom, beneath her gear and her towel, out of sight and in an awkward position. She pulled the three little candles out and set them on the edge of tub, carefully lining them up next to the faucet so they didn't fall in. Back into the bag she went, grabbing a single fire dust cartridge from the bottom and popping it open, rubbing the fine red powder onto her fingers. She reached over one of the candle wicks and snapped her fingers, igniting a small flame and lighting it. She kept the fire dancing around her fingers and carried it over to the next two candles, lighting them as well. She wiped the fire off on the damp edge of the tub, her fingers sizzling as they extinguished. She poured the rest of the fire dust into the water, turning it a soft pink and listening for the sizzling sound in the bubbles. Fire dust, when mixed with bathwater, tended to provide a soothing, fizzing sensation on the skin, and that is what she was most looking forward to.

She did a quick perimetre check, making sure no one was around, and pulled out a long, skinny glass bottle from her bag along with a fat glass flute wrapped in a hand towel. She unwrapped the glass, and set it down on the edge of the tub next to the candles. She set the bottle down on the table next to the tub and stood upright, and padded over to the window and looked out, making sure that _really_ no one was gonna see what she was up to. She stood a moment, feeling the sun beat down on her bare body, and loving every second of it. She sighed, and yanked the blinds shut, bringing the room to a sweet dim light of just the candles. She bounced, _bounced_ back over to the tub, ignoring the shooting pains in her body as she picked up the bottle again.

"Thank _you,_ Junior Xiong." She pulled the wax seal off the lid of the bottle. "I absolutely _love_ you."

She popped the cork gently out, set it down in her bag, and poured the deep purple, nearly black liquid into the glass, nearly brimming it with the strong-smelling stuff. Yes, what she was about to do was illegal, but technically she didn't exist and neither did the man who had supplied her, so who would be able to prosecute her? She set the bottle down and loosely put the cork back in and set it out of reach. One glass would probably be plenty for a girl her size and with her metabolism. She checked the water for temperature, and satisfied with what she found, reached over the tub and shut the faucet off. Down in the bottom of her bag was a little cardboard box. She grabbed it, opened the lid with a flick of her wrist, and gently shook the contents out over the soapy water, littering it with about a hundred sweet-smelling rose petals, a decent mix of red and white. She smiled down at them.

"Perfect."

She groaned as she got up again, moving over to the counter, where she'd left her record player.

"Alright, what do I want today? Brahms? Beethoven?"

She plugged the player in to the wall socket, and picked up her fairly sparse record collection.

"Ooh, haven't listened to this one yet." She mused, picking up the one from the bottom of the pile. " _Gymnopédie_. Sounds foreign. Alright, Erik Satie, impress me."

She de-sleeved the record and carefully extracted it from its polymer dust jacket and set the two things aside, carefully ensuring the fragile vinyl disk didn't fall to the tile floor. That would be an expensive accident. With the grace of a swan, she laid the record onto the turntable and lifted the cursor over the edge, keeping the cueing switch in the up position as it spun up to speed. Thirty-three and an third revolutions per minute, the best speed in her opinion for audio file listening. She looked at herself in the circular vanity mirror for a moment, examining the bruising on her face. At least the vogue-esque makeup had kept most of it at bay. She opened the vanity door for a moment and grabbed her one and only colour of lipstick and slammed it shut, carefully reapplying the deep red colour to her lips, puckering at herself in the mirror for a moment.

"Byoutiful."

She dropped the cueing switch and sauntered over to the tub, reaching once more into her bag and pulled out a flat heart-shaped box and opened it, the aroma of cocoa hitting her in the face with that sweet smell of sin. She set it down on the little low table, lid open, and stepped into the tub. She frowned and winced as the incredibly hot water gripped her legs. She slowly lowered herself in, feeling the heat of the water creep up her body as more and more of her body slipped into the thick mountain of pink apple-smelling bubbles. Her body settled in to the tub very gently, her muscles relaxing.

"Ahhh- _ahhhhhhh,_ that's nice…"

She leaned back, resting against the sloped back of the tub and slipping herself down so her chin touched the water. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with air and letting her bum float off the bottom of the smooth tub, letting out a sigh and closing her eyes, sinking back down under the tall mountain of suds. The tingling sensation of the infused dust in the water moved over her skin in slow waves, moving up from her feet, up her legs, around her hips, up past her chest and down her arms in slow rhythmic pulses. She enjoyed this feeling a moment longer, her eyelids fluttering open lazily as the music from the record player started the opening chords. One hand came out of the water slowly and she wiped it daintily on a nearby hand towel, and picked up one of the little chocolates from the heart-shaped box. She popped it into her mouth and reached for her glass, her arm covered in soap and flower petals.

"Thish ish perfecc." She said quietly to herself, mouth full of chocolate and nougat.

She took a _long_ sip from the glass. As soon as it entered her mouth, she was greeted by the smooth, fruity flavour of blueberries, blackcurrant and licorice or all things, hitting her a lot harder than she'd prepared for. But the taste lingered as she swallowed, pooling through her mouth and roaming around her tongue, taking little nips at her taste buds every moment or so. As the flavour faded, it was replaced by faint notes of peppery spice and just the smallest hint of oak right at the back. She swirled the glass in her hand for a moment, watching the purple liquid spin slowly around in it.

"Ugh, this pairs so well, Junior." she grabbed another chocolate. "Ish almosh like you know what you're djouing."

The heat of the water was biting into her cuts a little, but the soothing sensation of the dust in the water, coupled with the drink taking the edge off was making her feel so much better. And her old pal's choice in drink was more luxurious than she'd been expecting. She was hoping for something lighter, something more along the lines of a cheap blend. This was far too expensive for her. But goddamn it, she deserved it. She genuinely felt like she was floated on a cloud of air. There wasn't much more she wanted out of life at this moment. She took another deep sip and sighed, feeling all the weight lift from her shoulders and her spine decompress.

Being a Huntsman was dirty, painful, sometimes literally backbreaking work. It took a lot out of a person, from their will to carry on, their fighting spirit, right down to their blood and entrails in the most extreme cases. Every day new kinds of Grimm were discovered and every day Huntsmen from all over the world fought and died to protect the lives of millions. She'd never pictured herself being one of the unfortunate souls who would have to lay down their lives in combat. On the contrary, she always pictured herself like her mother, being a fearless and destructive force of nature that nothing could kill. Of course, the irony wasn't lost on her as she quickly realized she had always idolized herself. But that was okay, sometimes. She'd looked up to Summer Rose, and now she _was_ Summer Rose, and by her own account she was living up to her own high expectations. But sometimes, even the strongest warriors needed a break from the action. A little time to themselves.

They certainly couldn't be expected to be one hundred percent attack at all times, that would be absurd. She understood that behind every fearless warrior was someone who just needed a little R&R every so often. And that was exactly what Summer Rose needed at this very moment, was a little bit of time away from the front lines. Classes were going well, she was proving herself a capable leader and friend, and she was enjoying settling in to this new life she'd found herself stuck in. But at this moment, she wasn't complaining. The friend she'd made in Raven was more than she could ever have asked for, especially in bringing out the unbelievably soft side the woman had been hiding away from the world under that scary facade.

She took another nougat-filled bundle of sin and had herself another sip of the thick purple drink, setting the tall glass down with dainty fingers. The soft smell of green apple, chocolate, and blueberry-blackcurrant reminded her of the smell of Little Cindy's hair from two days before, and of her sweet little smile when she gave her the lollipop. Poor girl was spoiled rotten. But she deserved it, really. When she'd lost so much when her village burned to the ground. She deserved every sweet thing in the world. Except of course for the sweet purple drink in her cup at the moment, that was for when Cindy was older. Like, thirty.

But more to the point, it was a good thing that she'd unlocked her semblance, as it meant that she could better protect herself, it just sucked at how violent the method was. She'd planned this whole routine she was gonna go through, with candles, matches, little bits of newspaper to burn. Anything that would have been nice to ease the small girl into her fire-based semblance, despite being debilitatingly pyrophobic. But all fears can be overcome with the proper counselling and training, hence the regiment designed to properly associate the girl with her powers. But now, despite all of Ozpin's rigorous praise, she knew that the poor child would likely be too afraid of even herself to ever use them.

But she'd seen Ozpin's methods up close. He had been able to convince the timid blond boy across the hall that it was safe to get on a catapult six hundred feet above a cliff and let him fling him off into Grimm-infested territory. So getting his own adopted child to come out of her shell with fire powers would be a walk in the park for the old wizard. Probably _actually_ a walk in a park, he tended to like doing that in the park next to the school to clear his head. It was a great park, if she thought about it. A good place to train cardio on the long pathway the circled it, and with plenty of open sparring space it was good for combat practice too. So getting Little Cindy out there to practice not burning the forest down would be good for her.

She sighed and took another sip. Her glass was getting dangerously empty, she noticed. Somebody might have to remedy that for her. Alas, she was alone, so she groaned and sat up, reaching over the edge of the tub for the bottle again. With her glass refilled and the bottle placed back behind her head on the table, she settle back in and grinned to herself. The chocolate was also disappearing quickly, but she only had herself to blame for that one, as three of the chocolates were actually strawberry-flavoured and she'd already sucked those into herself as soon as she'd seen them on the drawing on the inside of the box.

There was a soft knock at the door.

She nearly jumped at how suddenly she was interrupted. She turned her head to glare daggers into the door, hoping somehow they'd penetrate and murder the individual unlucky enough to be standing on the other side. She sighed.

"Hello?"

" _Summer? It's me, it's Rae."_

She softened.

"Oh. What's up?"

" _Can I come in?"_

Ruby looked down at herself for a moment, and then to the glass in her hand. She wasn't exactly in any position for guests.

"Uh, I'm a little busy?"

" _Oh. Right, sorry."_

"No, you can come in. As long as you don't look."

A scoff from the other side of the door. " _As if."_

The latch clicked softly and the hinges creaked as the door slowly opened. In hobbled her partner, wearing a plastic brace over her right foot and shin. Her outfit normally would have included skinny jeans or tight-fitting slacks, but due to her injury and leg brace she couldn't wear them. She instead seemed to be currently favouring the regular plaid uniform skirt and a navy blue Beacon Academy hoodie. She eyed her up and down as she approached with a significant limp. A cute look on the tall woman, for sure. She turned and closed the door behind her.

"S'up, Rae?"

"Just wondering where you were." she groaned as she kneeled down next to the tub. "Got some stuff I wanna talk about."

She pulled some of the soap bubbles up towards herself to hide her nudity.

"Yeah, yeah, for sure."

Raven took a sniff of the room, frowning.

"Wait, what is that smell? Apple? Cinnamon?"

"Uh, yeah, it's my bubble bath solution and the candles."

She did her best to hide the cup in the bubbles as well, but unfortunately the dark purple drink was sort of hard to miss.

"What are you drinking?" Raven reached through the bubbles and grabbed the cup from her hands and brought it to her face. "Is this wine? Are you drinking _wine?"_

She flushed. "Maybe."

Raven took a sniff of the drink. "Hoo! What is this, a merlot?"

"It's a Syrah."

"How in gods' name did you get alcohol? Aren't you like, seventeen?"

She looked away.

"Uh, from the bartender."

"Summer, it's illegal to sell alcohol to minors."

"Yeah, and Hei's a criminal, what do you expect?"

The woman paused a moment.

"You know, that's a fair point."

She grinned up at her partner, fidgeting around in the bath.

"I could have just said 'I know a guy' and you'd have taken that at face value."

Raven chuckled. "You're right, I would have. Anyway, what even is all this? What's with the bubble bath, wine, rose petals, classical music…"

"It's just a bit of a romantic gesture, Rae-Rae."

"For who? You? Are you trying to romance yourself?"

She pointed a finger at Raven's nose, flicking a dollop of soap onto it.

"Hey, nobody in the world loves me more than _me,_ so sometimes I have to show myself that."

"Ha!" Raven laughed. "You know, you really are a strange individual, Mere."

"And you love me for it."

"Tsk. You wish."

She reached out and tapped some more suds onto Raven's cheek.

"You'll come around."

"We'll see."

At this moment, the door burst open again and in came both Qrow and Taiyang.

"Hey, girls, what's going on, are we having a union meet-"

"Hey!" Ruby yelled, jumping nearly all the way out of her skin and pulling her arms up to her chest to cover herself. "Get the _fuck out!"_

"Whoa, sorry, we didn't- that you were in the-" Qrow stumbled, shielding his eyes, but not really making an effort to _leave._ "We just thought you were-"

" _OUT!"_

She turned over and stuffed her hand into her duffle bag again, and pulled out her 1911, spinning and levelling the barrel at the two bumbling fools. Raven shrieked and ducked out of the way. Ruby kept the sights aimed directly at Qrow's crotch, as he was closest to her.

"Hey, whoa, that's a little unnecessary, don't you think?"

" _Get! Out! You perverts!"_ She screamed with a little more humour in her tone, just enough so Raven would chuckle. "This is a bathroom, the hell did you _think_ I was doing?!"

"Look, we saw Raven go in and we-" Tai started.

" _JUST LEAVE! That's an_ _ **order!**_ " she yelled, cocking the hammer on the pistol. That got their attention, and they bolted, apologizing profusely and slamming the door. As soon as she heard them leave earshot, she lowered the gun, and started to giggle.

"Stupid boys."

"Summer, why the fuck do you have a gun in the bathroom? And why did you just point it at our teammates?"

"Re- _laaax_ Rae, it was just to scare them off. Besides…" she lifted the barrel up and pointed the bottom of the grip to her partner. "There's no magazine in it and the trigger lock is still on. It's not gonna fire."

"Yeah, but _they_ didn't know that."

"You're right, and that's why they left."

She tucked the weapon back into her duffel bag, letting it fall to the bottom underneath her gear, and took her glass back from her partner.

Raven smirked. "Stupid boys."

"Boys suck."

"You're right, they do. Awful things, they are."

"Too bad they're necessary for the advancement of the species."

"Yeah. If only we could just create babies with science, we wouldn't need them."

Ruby paused a moment for thought, frowning into her wine glass.

"You know, that's not a half-bad idea, I might just look into that."

Her partner rolled her eyes with a bemused grin.

"Whatever you say, Mere. Man, this bath thing seems like a really good idea. Maybe I should have one."

"You're right, it's a great idea." Ruby bit her lip. "Care to join me?"

Her partner seemed to flush.

"I thought we agreed this wasn't the kind of relationship we had."

"It's not, but you said you needed a bath. This just saves water, you know?"

She seemed hesitant.

"Mmm, maybe not. I will have a glass of wine, though."

"Ah-ah-ah, nope." she said, stopping Raven's reach for the bottle. "Only if you get in the tub."

"For real?"

"Them's the rules, Rae."

She sighed. Ruby's eyes lit up.

"Alright, fine. Just this once, and you can't tell anyone."

"We're drinking alcohol, Rae, obviously I'm not gonna tell anyone."

The look on her partner's face seemed to indicate this might not be just a one time occurence. Raven stood up slowly, bracing herself on the edge of the tub as she did to keep the weight off her bad leg.

"Please don't look."

"Rae, we change together, I've seen you naked. Well, almost."

"Yeah, but… please?"

"Alright fine."

"Th-thanks."

Ruby directed her attention away as her partner moved over to the door again, locking it with a soft click of the twist latch. Not that a measly door lock would stop their teammates if they _really_ wanted to get in, but it was the thought that counted.

"Hey, can you flip the record over while you're over there?"

"Sure."

Sure enough, she heard the distinct sound of the player lid opening and the vinyl disc being lifted off and flipped over. The static sound of the edge of the record faded in, followed by the soft chords that signified the beginning of act three of the symphony. Then the unmistakable sound of a sweater being pulled off.

"Actually, there is one thing you can check for me…"

Ruby eagerly turned to look. "Whassat?"

"I fell pretty hard on a rock during the mission and my back has been killing me, and I can't see it in the mirror. Can you see anything wrong?"

Ruby squinted to see. Raven had her back to her, her hair pulled forward, and her sweater off and in her arms. her wide, muscled shoulders were exposed to the dim candlelight, the light flickering off each taught rise and valley of corded muscle that stretched across her well-toned back. She tried her hardest to not oggle the substantial triceps and traps, even if they did ripple aggressively as the woman breathed. Right in the middle of her back, however, running down her spine and bridged by her bra clasp, was a substantial purple and blue bruise. Ruby winced.

"Ooh, yeah, right in the middle. Looks pretty bad, actually."

"How bad?"

"I'd probably suggest you see a chiropractor."

"That bad, really? Like, right now?"

"No, but I'd put it on your list of things to do. Geez, no wonder you didn't sleep well last night."

"Yeah, my back's been killing me. That and my ankle."

"Good thing you're getting in the bath, then."

"Y-yeah…"

She turned away again to give her privacy, and dug back into her duffle bag for another glass. Off to the side, there was a second one, also wrapped in a hand towel for safety. She unwrapped it and set it on the edge of the tub, next to her own. The sound of plastic clasps opening was next, followed by the sound of a leg brace falling to the floor.

"Okay, I'm coming back over. Your eyes better be closed."

Ruby put her hand over her eyes.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Okay…"

She could hear the sound of bare feet padding softly over the slick tile. Even for a woman so tall and so dense with muscle, she could move with barely a sound. This was probably due to years training to be a thief and a bandit, however. But it would probably serve a good purpose as a Huntress as well, she figured. Good for sneaking past particularly hard of hearing Grimm, like Beowulves and Ursai.

"Are you in yet?" she giggled.

"Shut the fuck up, Summer. I'm getting in _now."_

Ruby pulled her knees up to her chest to give her companion space to get in. The tub was definitely large enough for the two of them, even though her partner was a substantial eleven inches taller than she was. A foot came through the surface of the water, fizzing through the mountain of fruity-smelling bubbles. Raven's hands squeaked on the edges of the tub as she lowered herself in, sinking down until her butt landed on the bottom with a dull thump.

"Okay, I'm in."

Ruby opened her eyes. True to her word, there was her partner, sitting with her body mostly below the water's surface, her back pressed all the way up against the other side of the tub. She had her arm draped tightly against her bosom, covering her chest from view. Ruby smirked.

"Having a height problem there, princess?"

"Shut up. I'm too tall for this bathtub."

"Scooch down, then! Put your feet in my lap."

"Wha- no!"

Ruby rolled her eyes and reached out under the water, and grabbed one of Raven's ankles. The woman squawked briefly as her leg was yanked forward, making her body and butt slide closer to her. She relented, and stretched both her legs out, bringing them to rest on the tops of Ruby's thighs. She too stretched her legs out, resting them just to the left side of Raven's hip.

"There, better?"

"I guess."

"Well, your titties are covered, so you don't have to worry about me peeking."

"That wasn't-"

"Yessss it was, Rae-Rae, I can read you like a book."

"Shut up."

Ruby turned and grabbed the wine bottle again, popped the cork off and filled the second glass with the deep purple wine. She handed it over to her companion, who nervously took it in her fingers. She put the bottle down on the floor and picked up her own glass.

"There you go, my love."

"Th-thanks."

They sat opposite each other for a moment, Raven's cheeks thoroughly red. Ruby maintained eye contact and wiggled her eyebrows every time her gaze was met. After a few awkward moments, they both burst out laughing.

"Ahh, this is fun, ain't it?" Ruby laughed, poking Raven in the stomach with her toe.

"This is the gayest thing I've ever done, Mere."

"Oh? Not even that time you kissed me in the bank?"

"Bitch, you kissed _me."_ she said, taking a sip of her wine. "Oh, fuck, this is good."

"I know, right? Want a chocolate?"

"Hell yeah."

Ruby handed the box over and let her take one, careful to not tip it too far and spill the chocolates into the bathwater. Raven took one and tossed it up, leaning her head back and catching it in her mouth. As she chewed, she winced.

"S'amatter?"

"Cranberry."

"Oh, not a fan?"

The woman shook her head, her long curls fluttering around. "Not particularly. Got anything with coconut in it?"

Ruby looked into the box. "I dunno, I might have eaten them all. I think this one does."

She gestured to a brown and white conch shell-shaped one. Raven shrugged and picked it up, tossing it up and into her mouth again.

"Yuff, coconuff."

"Glad you're entertained."

"Fankff"

Ruby chuckled. "No problem. How's your ankle doing?"

"Hurts pretty bad. I'm tryna ignore it."

"Need me to massage it?"

Raven shrugged. "I mean, at this point, I've already got my feet in your lap, you might as well. Not like this could get any gayer."

Ruby grinned mischievously and carefully lifted her partner's healing ankle off her lap and held it in her hands. She began to gently rub her thumbs into the fleshy bit of her leg, just above the joint.

"I dunno, we could be playing the pocky game."

"The fuck's the - _ow-_ pocky game?"

"Do you know what pocky is?"

"Isn't it that stick candy? Filled with chocolate?"

"Yeah, exactly. The Pocky game is where one of us puts the bare end between our lips and the other has to bite off more and more pocky until they either feel uncomfortable and back off or get so far down that they kiss the person."

Raven blinked.

"You know, at this point, I think we've gone far enough overboard, I'm just gonna ask. Do you have any pocky, 'cause I'll try anything at this point."

Ruby laughed.

"No, I do not have any pocky. I like your enthusiasm, though."

"Oh."

"Wow, you seem disappointed."

"Don't promise me - _ow-_ chocolate and then expect me to be okay when you say there is none!"

Ruby took a sip of her wine. "Right, the _pocky_ is what you're disappointed about, _sure._ "

"Shut the fuck up, Summer."

"You know, you're literally the last person on the face of the planet I thought I'd be sharing a bath with, like, literally ever."

"You know, a couple weeks ago, I'd have said the same thing, Mere."

"No, but seriously. I mean, I guess all you needed was a little time to warm up to me, and we found out together that you're just a big softie. There's redemption for you yet, Rae."

"I… don't know what you mean, but okay."

Ruby let herself get a little lost in the fantasy for a moment, mumbling "maybe this time around you'll stay with him."

"What was that?"

She perked up again.

"Oh, nothing, nothing. Say, have you made any progress with our plan?"

"You know, actually, that's what I came to talk to you about. I have some news."

"What, really?! Wait, is it good or bad?"

Raven bit her lip. "Good."

"Ooooooh, tell me, tell me, tell me!"

"Jeez, you seem excited."

"Raven."

"Right. Well, he asked me out."

Ruby nearly exploded.

"Yeah! Finally! What did you say?"

"We have a date tomorrow afternoon at Chez Gaston."

"Oh, Raven!" she dove for the woman, wrapping her arms around her neck, keeping her wine glass clear of the flowing black hair. If this woman was _anything_ like her daughter then spilling wine in her hair would mean instant and gory death, something she wished to avoid for the time being. "I'm so proud of you!"

This was the first real step forward back to the 'real' present she remembered. She just needed to keep this little relationship going for a few more months and they'd be sufficiently on track for the future.

"Summer, not so hard." Raven barely managed to breathe out. "You're squishin' my tits."

"Oh, sorry." she retracted, scooching back down to her end of the tub. "Sorry, I'm a hugger."

"Oh, I noticed. Can you maybe not be when we're naked? It's a little awkward."

"Sorry. I'll try to contain myself for next time."

"Thank you. I'm not saying I don't appreciate your hugs, just… you're very boney, and I'm a little…" she gestured to her chest. "...sensitive."

"Oh hoh?" Ruby glanced down at the mound of bubbles obstructing her view and cocked her eyebrows.

"Head out of the gutter."

"Fine." she pouted. "You know, we need to go shopping."

"Wha-why?"

"To get you a date-ready outfit for tomorrow!"

"What, _now?"_

"Yes, now! Fashion waits for no one, Raven! What were you even planning on wearing?"

She took a timid last sip of wine. "I dunno, my red coat over my uniform?"

Ruby's eyes twitched. Quite violently.

"No!" such an affront to style wouldn't stand. "You need to be taught what proper date attire is."

"It's not like I can wear pants! I have to keep the brace on until my ankle heals all the way!"

"Who said anything about wearing pants, my love? Now, come on! We have important shopping to do!"

She stood up, soap and water dripping from her body and hopped out of the tub. Raven gawked as she dashed around the bathroom, naked, hurriedly putting the wine bottle away in her bag and unplugging the record player, carefully re-sleeving the vinyl disc and stacking it neatly. She grabbed a towel from the rack and dabbed herself off quickly, tossing it at the hamper in the corner and missing. She grabbed a second towel and dashed back over to the tub, holding it out lengthways.

"Get up, get up! Get toweled off, we have places to be!"

"S-Summer, you're not wearing any clothes…"

"Ignore that, hurry up." She looked away for privacy. "C'mon, the stores aren't open all day!"

"How do you have such good body confidence?" she asked, standing. Ruby wrapped the towel around her partner and stepped back, collecting her clothes from the ground.

"Well, I'm very short, so there's not that much body to be confident about. Plus, I used to live with only girls so we all kinda got used to it after a while."

"I, uh, I'm gonna need more practice."

"Feel free to bare it around me, dummy. Now dry off and get dressed!"

She ran to the door, her underwear barely on and her shirt only halfway buttoned up. She pulled it open just enough to stick her head out. Just down the short hall was their common area of their dorm, where Tai and Qrow were sitting lazily on two beanbags. She whistled to grab their attention.

"Hey! Assholes!"

Tai looked up from his magazine. Something about sports, judging by the cover.

"What's up, kiddo?"

"Get me my phone!"

"You're not gonna point a gun at me again, are you?"

"Only if you don't get me my goddamn phone, hurry up!"

"Right, fine." he chuckled, pulling himself upwards. In the sunlight that was coming in through the large picture window, she saw exactly why Raven was so taken by him. He was beautiful.

"Hurry!"

After a moment of him searching her desk, he grabbed the phone and carried it over. Ruby took it and tossed it onto the sink vanity, before turning back to the blond boy.

"Thanks."

"What are you two doing in there, anyways."

"We're doing 'mind your business', Taiyang. Now, I recommend you take your boy over there and visit the nearest clothing store before tomorrow."

"Why, though?"

She stuck her arm through the door and grabbed him by the collar of his t-shirt, and yanked his face close to hers.

"Because, moron," she whispered through clenched teeth. "I swear to god, if you show up for lunch tomorrow wearing beige cargo pants and a vest, I will kill you."

"That's all I own, though!" he whispered back.

"Then _go_ and buy something else?"

"But what? A suit?"

"Something _nice!"_ she seethed at him, keeping her voice low enough so no one would hear. "A nice pair of dress pants, a dressy shirt, something that looks like you payed attention and put some effort in. Pretend _I'm_ there with you. Pick something _I'd_ like."

"Y-yes, ma'am."

"Now go, _tout suit."_

She shoved him away by his collar and slammed the door again. Raven barely had her skirt back on, her shirt was still unbuttoned, and she was still fully red in the face. Ruby paid her no mind as she grabbed her phone and dialed her neighbour. The line rang for a second.

" _Hello?"_

"Glynda, it's me, it's Summer."

" _Uh, hey, what's up?"_

"Hey, don't sound so happy to hear from me, now. Grab your car and meet me around the front of the dorms in ten minutes, we have to go shopping."

" _Ooh, what are we going for this time?"_

"My partner has a date tomorrow, and has no viable outfit for it." she said, winking at Raven from across the bathroom. She stuck her tongue out in retaliation.

" _Why didn't you say it was an emergency?! I'm on my way."_

The line ended. Ruby nearly jumped for joy, sliding her legs into her pants and tossing Raven's hoodie at her with her foot.

"C'mon, hustle!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!"

Ruby grabbed her makeup bag from behind the mirror and punted her partner out of the bathroom, yanking her cardigan down over her head as she hit the light switch and slammed the door shut.

This was gonna be an excellent experience for both her and her partner.

Because it had been a _while_ since she got to play dress up with her sister, and this was gonna be the closest thing to that. Raven was the closest thing she had to a sister, especially considering this woman was quite literally the spitting image of Yang, just six inches taller and with shining black hair. Her heart _swelled_ as they bolted from the room, racing down the hallway, with Ruby helping her disabled teammate not stumble along on her bum leg. The boys had luckily already left the room, hopefully to fix Tai's atrocious outfit. He'd better, if he wanted to live.

By the time she'd bundled her partner into the back seat of Glynda's claustrophobic little off-roader, she'd already come up with a few designs and ideas for an outfit.

It was gonna be perfect.

Or she was gonna die trying.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"I am so unbelievably uncomfortable right now, Summer."

"Tough shit. Stand there and take it."

The changing room lights bore down on them like theater follow spots, making the top of her partner's ebony black hair glimmer like a mirror.

"I don't even know why this is necessary? I _own_ clothes!"

"Right, and we've already explained this to you darling, if you wear any of them to your date I will remove your skin with a potato peeler. You are getting new clothes whether you like it or not, capische?"

Raven stuck her head over the top of the stall door to glare nervously at her.

"I heard you the first time, Mere. Please don't hurt me."

"Just try on some clothes and I won't."

"I _am!_ But why did you have to put _her_ in here with me!"

Glynda spoke up from inside the stall.

"I'm here to make sure everything fits, and to make adjustments when necessary. Please stand still, Miss Branwen."

"Ow! Quit jabbing me with those things!"

Ruby giggled into her comic book, kicking her feet up onto the adjacent chair. "Make sure that woman comes out looking a million lien, G."

"That is my intent. Please raise your arms above your head, Miss Branwen."

There was some grumbling from within the stall, followed by compliance as Raven raised her arms above the top of the door. The sounds that followed were a lot of shuffling and pained grunts as poor Raven was shimmied into something probably a little too small for her body. Lucky for her, the stylist she was being abused by was the expert and knew every facet of fashion and knew exactly how to make anyone look presentable.

"This feels," she struggled out. "Too tight."

"That is how it is supposed to sit. Now put this on."

"Ugh."

Ruby set her comic down in her lap and stared at the door. "Everything alright in there, G?"

"Mm, your friend is a little taller than most of these clothes are made for, but we are making it work."

"Fuckin- where the hell do _you_ buy clothes, then?" Raven demanded.

"My family's tailor. There is no store-bought for me, save for my school uniform. None of this would fit me."

"Pfft-yeah, not with _those_ tits."

"Would you like my assistance, or are you just going to make more snide comments on my figure?"

There was a pause. Ruby snickered.

"Sorry."

"Thank you. Put these on."

"B- I can't! They won't fit over the brace!"

"Take the brace off."

"But my leg!"

"Miss Branwen, please."

The circular arguments that Glynda and Raven had been having for the last hour were endlessly amusing. There was a _huge_ sigh followed by the sound of the clasps being let go again and the brace fell to the floor. It was quickly picked up, likely by Glynda, and slung over the top of the door with a clatter.

"Ow. Please, I can't-"

"There is always sacrifices with looking good. Sometimes that includes brief pains in the legs. Put these on."

"These are high heels. I- no."

"You can just say 'heels', Miss Branwen. Put them on."

Ruby winced, thinking of her partner's injury. "Actually, Glyn, maybe don't make her wear those, I don't want her shattering her ankle any further."

"Do you have an alternative, then?"

"Rae, you're what, a women's size twelve?"

"Eleven."

"Right, right, one second."

She got up and skipped back into the store, directly towards the shoe section. Raven was gonna need something with a steep, high top to cover her ankle if she was wearing the pants that Glynda had insisted she try on. Ruby mused over the styles for a moment, feeling her way past some rather tacky looking bejeweled sneakers. God, how anyone would even consider them would be a freakin' miracle, they were _hideous._ Eventually she brushed passed them to the boots, finding herself face to face with a rather stunning pair of brown ankle-high leather boots, vintage style.

"Ooh. I might buy these for myself." she said, picking up the display and turning it over. "No, bad Ruby. No spending money on yourself."

She put the display down and crouched, scanning the boxes of product beneath it for the right size. Of course, the size she needed was quite literally the bottom box, which had to be extricated with care to avoid the whole shelf falling onto her and making a mess of the store. With a wiggle of her wrist, the box came free without incident, leaving a box-shaped gap at the bottom of the pile. Neat.

She hurried back and handed the box over the top of the stall, where one of the two of them took it.

"Wh-, these are Doc's, Mere."

"Yeah." she said, sitting back down and picking up her comic book.

"These are gonna be expensive."

Ruby shrugged. "Sometimes you gotta spend a little on the good things. Those boots'll last you until you're like, forty if you take care of them."

The sound of a box being opened grabbed her attention back to the stall.

"Oh my."

"Yeah, they're nice, aren't they?"

"...and you're sure about these?"

"Very."

"If you say so."

After a few more moments of fussing and the sounds of shoelaces being tied, no doubt by Glynda since Raven couldn't bend over to do it herself, they were ready. With a creak of poorly-oiled hinges, the change stall door swung open and Raven was pushed out into the hallway.

"Well, I'll be damned." Ruby looked her partner up and down. "I knew I called the right person."

"This is humiliating. I feel like a doll."

"And today, you are."

Glynda strode around her and took a seat next to Ruby, crossing her legs and putting her chin into her hand.

The look was excellent. The navy blue off-shoulder sweater hung just so on the woman's long torso, exposing only her left shoulder to the air. The elastic bando underneath meant that shoulder was completely bare, free from intrusion of a strap or sleeve. The deep black cotton chinos hugged her muscled legs like they'd been made specifically for her, flared out at the bottom to cover the very top of the leather boots, but leaving enough of them exposed so they could see the brass eyelets shimmer back at them. The subtle touch of the deep brown belt around her waist didn't go unnoticed, neither did the sliver of midriff that the sweater exposed whenever Raven moved her shoulders.

"I love it." Ruby said, trying to contain her excitement.

She noticed that Raven seemed to be keeping all her weight off her bad leg, since she didn't have the brace on anymore. Glynda seemed less impressed with the outfit, however.

"Mmm, I'm not so sure. It's a little… middle school, don't you think?"

"No, don't be ridiculous. She looks like a freaking _model,_ G. Hell, if she showed to dinner with _me_ looking like that, let me tell you, I'd be letting her smooch on the first date."

Raven seemed to flush red. Ruby paid her no mind as Glynda pondered her statement.

"Yeah, maybe that's not what we're going for. Perhaps more of a country girl aesthetic would be more suited. She is quite the buff body, if I'm honest. She could easily pass for a Valean native. If she was blond. Miss Branwen, may we colour your hair for tomorrow?"

Raven recoiled, careful of her bad leg.

"No! Abso-fucking-lutely not!"

Ruby perked up. "Okay, but what if _I_ helped you dye your hair?"

There was a pause from the tall woman.

"Okay, maybe, but not today. And not blond. I'm going on a date with a blond boy, don't you think that would be weird if I showed up and we matched?"

"Actually, that's a fair point, I had forgotten who you were going out with for a moment there."

"...How? You were the one who orchestrated this!"

Obviously, she couldn't admit to fantasizing about scrubbing her hands through her partner's beautifully luscious hair, so she just bit her lip and held up her book.

"I was distracted."

"You're always distracted, Summer."

"Sorry. You look stunning as you are."

"I'd really like to wear my leg brace, though.

Ruby shrugged. "Sacrifices, Rae."

The woman winced, hobbling back to the little stall and sitting down on the bench, leaving the door open. She rubbed at her leg.

"I do like those boots, though. Did they have them in my size, by chance?" Glynda questioned, leaning over to her.

"Uh, no, eleven was the biggest."

"Hmm, a shame. They're super cute."

"Hyeah, I want a pair of my own." She paused, doing a mental inventory of the outfits they'd chosen. "I have an idea, wait here."

Ruby got up, tossing her comic book into Glynda's lap. She sauntered across the change room and folded herself into the changing stall with Raven. She closed the door with a soft _click_ and turned to the row of clothes hanging off on one side.

"Raven, take your pants off, please."

"Uh, yeah, okay." she mumbled, anxiously fiddling with her belt. She stopped halfway. "W-wait, why?"

Ruby turned her head with a wicked smile.

"I'm curious to know what _you_ think I want to do with you."

Raven shivered.

"I need an adult."

"No, you don't. You _do_ need to take off your pants, though."

"Why me?" she mumbled, kicking off the boots and pulling the belt all the way off.

Ruby diligently kept her back turned so Raven could de-pant in peace, listening for the sound of the woman's winces and gasps as she stepped out of the black chinos and left herself bare from the waist down.

"The sweater and the bando too, Rae-Rae."

"You just want me to be naked, don't you."

"I'll admit that was one part of my plan, yes. Please get naked."

Raven whined behind her as she pulled off the sweater. Ruby rifled through the rack of clothes until she found one particular blue polka-dotted garment and pulled it off the hanger it was on. She fiddled with it in her hands, pressing it to herself and looking down her body to check its length. Very, was the result.

"O-okay… I'm undressed."

Ruby turned, only to immediately flush red and turn back around.

"Whoa! Sorry, I should have clarified, you can keep your underwear on!"

" _What?!_ Why didn't you say that?! Fuck!"

Ruby laughed into her hands.

"Sorry!"

"Damnit, Summer!"

"Hey, wait, I have something for this!"

Ruby did another pass of the rack, grabbing a pair of lycra undershorts and a grey strapless bra, both made by Krieg, a brand she favoured in her underwear for their durability under stress and supportiveness. She handed them back to her nude partner without looking.

"Wear these, you'll need them."

There was a pause as Raven took them.

"But… these don't match."

"They're not supposed to, just put them on."

"Uh, okay."

There was a few moments of struggling as Raven put on the underwear, apparently not quite sure the correct way to put on a strapless bra. Not that Ruby blamed her, since being a nomadic bandit didn't exactly lend itself to fashion opportunities in the undergarment department. Or shopping at any mall, since there _were_ no malls in The Middle of Nowhere, Sanus.

"You in?"

"Uh huh."

"Kay, I'm turning around."

Raven was still sitting on the bench, in her new underwear with her arms crossed under her breasts to support them. She didn't exactly seem trusting of the bra she'd been given. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Stand up."

The order was followed, but the woman didn't move her arms, proving her point.

"What, afraid it's gonna fall down?"

"Well, yeah, it is."

"That's 'cause you're not wearing it right. Turn around."

"Okay, but don't unclip me."

Raven did as she was told. The garish rash across her back was still there, having not healed in the last few hours since she'd seen it. Ruby winced. Maybe Raven _did_ need a chiropractor sooner than later. She ignored the injury for now, focusing instead on the clasp that drew across it.

"See, this is why, you have this on the lowest setting. Here, let me-" she reached for the clasp and undid it, pulling as tight as possible to the fourth set of loops. "There, that better?"

Raven gasped as the air was forced out of her lungs. She tried to swear, but found herself without the necessary wind to do so.

"Too… tight… Summer…"

"Okay, maybe one less."

She set it back to the third set of loops, seeing her partner visibly inflate again. The issue with Krieg products, specifically their bras, was the material they used was unbelievably stiff, almost like silk, meaning it had no elasticity or stretch to it. So yanking it tight over one's chest tended to result in asphyxiation much like this. It meant the damn stuff never broke, but you did have to make sacrifices like this.

" _Uhhhh_ that's better."

Ruby chuckled. "Sorry. You can turn around now."

Raven turned, facing her in the small stall. Ruby tried her very hardest not to stare into the eye-level cleavage of her partner, instead focusing on adjusting the collar of the item in her hand.

"You want me to wear… that?"

"Yes, darling. I do."

"That's a dress."

"...yes, it is."

"I can't wear a dress!"

Ruby looked at her incredulously. "Why the hell not?"

"I just… I just can't!"

"You wear a skirt at school, don't you?!"

"Well, yeah, but… I just…"

Ruby pursed her lips and put her hand on Raven's cheek. "How about you just try it on, and if you decide you don't like it, we'll change it, okay?"

Raven sighed. "Alright, fine."

She smiled. "Awesome! Put your hands on my shoulders if you want to balance."

Her partner did as she was told again as Ruby bent down with the top of the dress facing up in her hands, holding it low to the ground. Raven stepped one foot in, nearly losing her balance as she did the other, her bad leg still not up to the task of holding her weight yet. Once both legs were in the dress, Ruby pulled it up her legs, past her hips, and up her torso.

"Keep your arms up, Rae."

"Uh huh."

She fiddled with the neck of the dress, settling it just over the edge of the bra cups, leaving the entirety of her neck, shoulders, and collar exposed.

"There we go. Now, I might have to get a little friendly with you here to get it to sit and stay."

"But, wait, where are the straps?"

Ruby blinked.

"This is a strapless dress…"

Raven looked down at herself, seeing that indeed, there was no straps. She panicked.

"Oh no, no no _no,_ I can't wear this!"

Ruby stepped back to admire.

"Why not, you look fucking _adorable,_ Raven."

The way that the white and blue dress hung off Raven's body was something else. The narrowness of her waist and wide-set hips meant that the dress had exactly the right flare along the bottom of the hem, the pleats falling oh so naturally against her legs and sitting just so above her knees. And the way it hugged her boobs? Ruby was sure she would go cross-eyed.

"I'm showing _way_ too much skin, Mere, this is absurd, I can't wear this, people will look at me and think I'm a floozy, my _knees_ are showing, my boobs are hanging all over the place, Taiyang's gonna think I'm some kind of… some kind of…"

Ruby stopped her with a raised finger.

"Number one, shut up, number two, shut up, number three, holy shit do you even _see_ yourself right now?"

"Buh-b-b-buh-"

"No, I said shut up. Put the boots back on and turn around."

Raven pouted, but complied, slipping her feet back into the boots and spinning around on the spot. Ruby reached the long way up and carefully pulled her partner's long and feathery hair back away from her shoulders. The dress had a ribbon tied around the back to act as a tensioner for thinner women, but with Raven's burly and muscular build she didn't need the dress to be any tighter, so she removed the ribbon.

"What are you doing back there?"

"Just hold still, you'll see in a second."

She took the ribbon in her teeth and held it there, pulling carefully at the locks again. She got them pulled up as high as they would go on the woman, holding it in place with her hand and grabbing the ribbon again. With a deft hand, she tied the ponytail up in place with the little blue ribbon, making a perfect bow just as Penny had taught her. Or rather, would teach her sixteen or seventeen years in the future. She paused a moment, realizing she couldn't remember Penny's Date of Manufacture. This puzzled her, since she always knew all of her friends' birthdays.

"There, excellent. Turn around."

"I'm gonna get sick from all this spinning."

"Tough shit."

Raven turned. Ruby _gasped._

It was _perfect._ In every measurable way. The bow holding up the shiny black locks, the cute ankle boots, the almost immaculately hanging dress. Ruby, admittedly, was in love again.

"Summer, you're looking at me weird…"

"Oh my god, Rae, you have to wear this. This is so much better than I expected. C'mon, let's go show Glynda."

"Okay…"

Ruby nearly burst the door down with how excited she was, dragging a limping Raven out behind her and back into the hallway. Glynda was still there, reading the comic so rudely tossed her way with her glasses off, lounging her tall frame over the two waiting room chairs. A curious sight, given her future thoughts on posture and reading comics.

"G, take a look at this, and take a look _now."_ Ruby demanded, pushing her partner out in front of herself.

Glynda put the book down and slid her glasses back onto her face, standing slowly up. As she did, the change in her facial expression seemed to span the entire wavelength of impressed, concerned, intrigued, infatuated, and obsessed as she looked the woman up and down.

"It's beautiful."

"I know, right?" Ruby chittered, giddy.

"More to the point, _she's_ beautiful. It's exactly what I wanted us to focus on. Everything about this serves to accentuate. If it wasn't for the bruise on her ankle, you'd be hard-pressed to convince me I _wasn't_ looking at a model right now."

"Guys, c'mon…" Raven tried, to no effect.

"The only thing I'd change would be to add some white calf socks, just to make the little bit of thigh you can see just that much more interesting."

"You can see my _thighs?!"_

"Only about two inches. That's the cut of this dress, after all."

Raven went red in the face. "This dress is too short. This dress is too slutty."

"No, it's not." Ruby chuckled, coming over and carefully adjusting the bust straps so it would stay all the way up. "It's cut this way on purpose to show off the legs and the collar. Have you never worn a strapless dress before?"

"No! I wear… t-shirts and coats. Things that all have _sleeves."_

"Well, then, today you learn that you can pull off things without sleeves as well. And personally I think you should do without the socks."

"That's because _you_ want to look at my legs."

"That… is factual."

Raven gave a dry chuckle and rolled her eyes. "You're weird, Sunshine."

"Yeah, but you love me."

"Unfortunately. Do you really think this is necessary? This… dress?"

Ruby nodded slowly.

"Yes, Raven, I think it's extremely necessary. Don't tell me you're having second thoughts about this date."

"I'm not, I just… don't know why we have to put in so much effort."

"It's a side effect of falling in love, Rae. We decide that it's worth it to show that we care for someone else. To put all this effort in shows that you want to display yourself in a method that _you're_ uncomfortable with to make someone else happy. I'm sure you'll find Tai doing the same thing, putting on a nice fancy shirt and pants to impress _you._ That would impress you, right?"

Raven raised her eyebrows. "Taiyang in a dress shirt and pants? That would be certainly impressive, yeah. I didn't think he had the mental capacity to imagine something beyond cargo shorts."

"Yeah, me neither. But he promised me he would. You see what I mean, though? It shows that you care. And if you're _both_ incredibly uncomfortable in what you're wearing, that gives you all the more reason to laugh about it and make conversation."

Raven blushed. "Yeah, see, I thought you were going a _way_ different route with that sentence, Mere. You had me for a second."

"What, you thought I was gonna say 'all the more reason to rip them off each other', right?"

"I plead the fifth."

"We can talk about that at a later date, darling. For now, you look absolutely stunning. All we have to do now is paint your nails and find you some better lipstick and then we'll be all set for your date!"

"You're not painting my nails."

"Yes, I am. You're not leaving the house tomorrow with a Huntress's beat up hands. You're getting some enamel whether you like it or not. I just haven't decided the colour yet."

Glynda interrupted, her arms crossed.

"I think I'll leave the two of you alone now. You seem like you've got this under control, Summer."

Ruby shrugged. "I'll do my best. Thanks for your help, G."

"Call me anytime."

With that, the tall blonde turned and departed, leaving them in the silent light of the changing area. Raven sputtered for a moment, confused.

"Wait, isn't she our ride home?"

"Nah, we can grab an air transport back to the school. They leave every fifteen minutes from the docks."

"That's… across town, it's gonna take us like an hour to walk there."

"We'll stop for dinner first, then." Ruby suggested. "But first, we gotta buy you that dress. And the underwear. A-and the boots. And you know what? Everything else on that rack. You need a new wardrobe. I can't be seen with you if all you have is the same thing over and over again, even if it _is_ astonishing."

"Uh… thank you?"

"You're very welcome. Now strip. Again."

"Ugh."

/…/

"That'll be nine hundred and seventy six, twenty-three, ma'am." the cashier said, gleefully.

Raven coughed and gripped at her chest, clearly blindsided by the final bill. Ruby just smiled and pulled out her wallet, grabbing her credit card and handing it over to the cashier. It swiped through with no problems, showing the little _approved_ sign on the front of the register. She took it back and slipped it back into her wallet, pocketing the little brown leather pouch.

"Thank you for shopping at Eclair's, we hope to see you again soon!"

"You very likely will, thanks!"

Ruby turned and took the three bags of clothes off the counter and strutted for the door, her partner hobbling along behind. They pushed through the glass doors and back out into the mall, sparse at this time of day since most everyone had gone home by this point and many of the other store were closing. Ruby took a deep breath, strutting away and towards the big glass elevators right near the middle of the mezzanine.

"Sunshine, I don't think you should be spending so much money on me, it's unfair."

"What are you talking about, it's perfectly fine."

"Summer, that was nearly a _grand._ I don't have any way of paying you back."

"Yeah, and you needed a grand worth of clothes. And don't worry about paying me back, you don't have to. I bought this for _you_ so you could look pretty on a date with Tai, it was a necessary expenditure."

"Yeah, but I thought you said we were only going to buy one outfit."

Ruby stopped in front of the elevator, reaching out to hit the _down_ button.

"You're right, that's what I said. Then I saw you in all those clothes and decided you needed _all_ of them."

"I thought… I thought you already thought I looked good…"

"I do, but you need more _options._ You can't always just put on your red coat and expect to look a million lien. You have to look just as good when you take of that coat."

"But I like my coat…"

"I like your coat too, I just realized you needed even more stuff to look good in _under the coat_."

They stepped into the elevator and hit the _1st Floor_ button, hearing the doors whoosh shut behind them. Ruby's mild claustrophobia wasn't affecting her today, especially not with her best friend with her in the glass enclosure. She sighed as the elevator sank them down to the lowest level, opening up to the food court, which smelled rich with the harsh flavours of the tofu restaurant at the corner. She scrunched up her nose as she got out of the lift, careful to not smack her bags of clothes on the doorframe.

"C'mon, we need to find something to eat."

Raven stumbled along behind.

"Can you _please_ slow down, I'm having a hard time walking over here."

"Well, I'm hungry, I haven't eaten since cereal at eleven, and then we had chocolates in the bath, which aren't exactly a steak dinner, now are they?"

"Please, I'm in pain, and I don't want you to skip off and leave me behind."

Ruby halted, spinning in a circle while she waited for her partner to slowly catch up.

"Alright, fine, I will not leave you behind, but only because I care about and respect you."

"That's- uh, nice, I think."

"D'you wanna hold hands?"

Raven seemed to frown at her, squinting through her bangs.

"No? I can… walk by myself just fine, I'm just much slower now."

"Are you sure?" Ruby held out her hand for Raven to take. " _I_ can keep you upright."

For a moment, her partner seemed to reach out for her, before smirking and strutting past towards the exits.

"Nah."

"Aw, man. I almost had you there."

"Why, did you want to hold _my_ hand?"

Ruby flustered. "W-well, no, I just wanted to help you if you needed it."

"You went from confident to fumbling idiot in no time at all, Sunshine."

Ruby paused, clenching her still-empty hand tightly closed.

"Shut the fuck up, Raven."

They laughed as they left through the big glass main entrance and into the arcade, the fresh, clean air filling their lungs and fluttering through her hair as the cool breeze swept through the narrow street. Ruby loved the arcade, from its quaint shops to its cobblestone sidewalks. It was really a great place to hang out. And with Chez Gaston on one end and Bastion's Baked Breads on the other, they were certainly spoiled for choice when it came to food. But that wasn't the sort of thing she wanted today. Ruby bore a hard right, peeling off towards the west end of the arcade, where the street opened up into a big courtyard.

"Where are you taking me? I thought you said you were hungry, we just passed like three restaurants."

"I'm not in the mood to sit down and eat today, Rae-Rae."

"...Uh, isn't that… kind of a part of eating? Sitting at a table?"

"At a restaurant, yeah. But we're not going to one of those. I'm instead going to introduce you to another one of my old friends."

Raven groaned. "Not another mob boss, is it?"

"Of course not." She chuckled. "Just an old man, who's very good at his job."

The road opened up as they passed Bastion's, revealing the huge octagonal courtyard. The massive fountain in the middle still blasting away with its polished bronze turtles and leaves statue, and the three-tier concrete bowls rising up from the middle. It always reminded her of the birdbath at her dad's house, just significantly larger and with less pigeons in it. Not to say there weren't pigeons around, there were, just none of them were in the fountain.

"This place is nice, Sunshine."

Ruby nodded, strolling calmly around the outside of the courtyard in a counterclockwise direction.

"Yeah, I used to come here a lot. My friend Penny used to love sitting on the edge of the fountain and seeing how high she could toss dimes."

"That sounds fun. D'you have any dimes?"

"Nah, I don't carry change on me. It rattles too much. Penny used to, though."

Raven was quiet for a moment as they strolled.

"Was _she_ your girlfriend?"

"Hmhmm, no, she was an experiment I was asked to run for the Atlesian army."

"She was what now?"

"Penny was a prototype android made by the AAF Science Division to test high-impact electromechanical components, and fitted with a stripped-down version of the Army's warmind AI program."

"An… android?"

"Yeah, the Atlesian Army is way ahead of all the other countries in terms of technology and infrastructure. They wanted to see if it would be possible to design a machine that could have a Semblance just like you and me. So they made Penny, and I was tasked with keeping her company while they improved on her design. She liked this courtyard a lot, and we'd come here once a week, every thursday at six."

"That's fuckin' cool. You got to meet an android?"

"Yeah, she was my friend."

"What did you guys do?"

Ruby sighed, trying not to remember why she couldn't have thursdays at six with Penny anymore.

"Well, I'd usually grab something to eat, then we'd play board games at one of the little tables over there, usually Risk or Chess. Turns out a warmind AI is _really_ good at Risk, so she'd generally always win. She was also a surprisingly good piano player. Every spring, the city council does this thing where they put twenty pianos around the city for anyone to play, and they're all painted with interesting bits of art and whatnot, and one of them gets put here in the courtyard."

"That's cool as fuck, Mere. I want to meet an android."

"Hey, maybe someday in the future, we'll be able to meet Penny again."

"Well, what ever happened to her?"

Ruby winced, not wanting to reveal the whole story.

"Decommissioned, put into storage, I don't really know. That was considered 'classified information' that I wasn't privy to. A soldier showed up one day with a severance check and informed me that the project wouldn't be continuing. So I left it at that."

The lie was perfectly crafted to continue the narrative she had been building for herself with her friends. It honestly pained her every time she had to think about any of the people she knew back in the future, especially people so kind-hearted and innocent like Penny. Because every time she did think about them, she had to also remember her sister, her best friend, and Weiss, all people she still wasn't sure if she was ever going to see again.

"But, I kept coming back here, if only just for the food. Because this food truck here helped me get over it."

"Food truck?"

Ruby gestured grandly to a large yellow and blue truck that was trundling up the alleyway next to them. They stepped out of the way as it pulled slowly into the courtyard, turning towards the picnic benches that were set up next to the edge of the fountain. Ruby bounced along behind it as it rolled to a slow stop, squeaking on its brakes as it did.

"C'mon, I'll introduce you to Glen."

"How the hell did you know this truck was about to show up?"

"It's ten to six, that's when he rolls in." She pointed to the clocktower at the north end of the courtyard. "Always has, always will. He's consistent."

"I… see."

Ruby pulled herself up to the truck's window, which wasn't even opened yet.

"I hope your heart valves are ready, because they're about to take a pounding, Rae."

"And I was watching my cholesterol. Oh well."

The big window on the side of the truck slowly cranked open, and the smell of boiling oil and peeled potatoes wafted out and into their noses. Ruby was glad to see the old man she knew from the future was still himself, only a fair bit younger and with more hair than she remembered. He still seemed pleased to see her.

"Hiya, Glen!"

"Hhhhelloh." he said, his voice thick with the far-eastern accent she was used to. He pulled his hat down over his hair, the truck's logo facing out. "Whhat can get for you?"

She turned to Raven. "What d'you want, Rae? Corn dogs? Hot dogs? Perogies?"

"Uh, hot dog, I guess."

"One or two?"

"Uh…" Raven looked down at her stomach, which growled angrily back up at her. "Sounds like two."

"Cool." she turned back to Glen. "Four hot dogs, two sodas, and an order of poutine, my good man."

"What is pou-teen?"

Ruby paused, squinting up at the man. She checked his menu, written in chalk on the wall of the truck next to the window. There was no mention of the cheesy goodness she was used to buying from this place.

"Uh, it's a polular snack from Patch. Man, I was sure you had it."

"Never heard."

Ruby just shrugged. "Do you have gravy?"

" _Da."_

"And cheese curds?"

"Also _da."_

"Okay, so put a handful of cheese curds on a small fries, then dump a ladle of hot gravy over it. I thought you had that, I remember it being like four lien."

"I do for you, small girl. Food ready in five minute. Total eleven lien."

Ruby pulled out her wallet and handed over a crisp twenty, receiving back a five and some change, which she stuffed back into her pocket with her wallet. She stepped back and sat against one of the picnic tables nearby, her partner leaning next to her. The wind blew the smell of oil and gravy around them, replacing the dull and dusty air in the courtyard. It was nice.

She'd been meaning to get out of the door eventually, and maybe find her way back to the arcade. It had all the little shops she liked, including a place that sold only artisanal cheeses and crackers. She wasn't the biggest fan of expensive cheese, but that store tended to have a taste testing booth out on the street every day, and she'd often stop by to try the fare. This was apparently what rich people did, cheese and wine tastings in the high vineyards of coastal Anima and Vale. Rich people like the Schnees, actually. Ruby had even _been_ on a wine-tasting with Weiss a year ago, seventeen years in the future. She sniffled.

"Food ready, little girl."

She perked up, glad to be away from her thought.

"Awe, sweet." she bounded over and took the steaming plastic plate. "Thanks, Glen."

"Come again soon."

She smiled back up at the old chef as she turned away, carrying the small tray of food over to where Rae had sat down on the edge of the fountain. Ruby carefully placed the tray down and sat as well, pulling her legs up and crossing them.

"These are for you," she said, handing over the plate with two hot dogs, all dressed.

"Thank you, Sunshine."

"You're very welcome, my friend."

Ruby took the little plastic fork she'd been given and dove it into the brand new poutine that apparently Glen had never made before. Funny, she was sure it was his signature item. People came from neighbouring _continents_ for Glen's award-winning poutine. She took a bite.

"Oh, _yes."_

Now she remembered why it was award winning. Raven was busy with her hot dogs, being careful to not drop relish on her uniform skirt or her sweater. She was being surprisingly dignified with the sloppy food, a sight Ruby wasn't exactly used to yet.

"Y'alright, there?"

"Have a bite. Now."

Ruby forced the little box of sin towards her partner's face, who tentatively reached out and grabbed a cheese-covered fry, nervously eating it. The change in expression on the woman's face was almost museum-quality, mind you.

"Holy _fuck._ What did you say this was?"

"Poutine. Country snack back in Patch."

"I want. Forever."

"It's _really_ not good for you when you think about it. Super high in starch and milk fat."

"I don't care."

They sat for a moment, eating their respective dinners and watching the small crowds of people meandering in and out of the arcade and around the big courtyard. The bells struck six o'clock slowly and sonorously as the big hand clicked over, filling the air with the deep tonal music from up in the tower. Ruby looked back over to her partner, dabbing at her mouth with a napkin.

"So about tomorrow…"

"Aw, I was hoping we weren't gonna talk about that."

"What was your plan, Rae? Wing it and see what happens?"

"I mean… kinda. I don't really know _how_ to date."

"That's fine, it's okay if you don't." Ruby paused a second to have a bite of hot dog. "How's this, think of _this_ as _our_ first date, and we can prepare you from there."

"Wh- what? Are you saying _this_ is a date?"

Ruby shrugged.

"Kinda is. We spent some time looking at clothes at the mall, we talked about my friends and interests, we found some cheap and cheerful food and are now eating it at the edge of a fountain that has emotional meaning to one of us. It's pretty much 'First Date 101', Rae."

"But… we're going to Chez Gaston tomorrow…"

"Yeah, because Taiyang is aware of how much you like that place because of how much you were hyping it last week. He listened to what you said, and made a decision based on that. He might be pretty stupid, but he _is_ observant."

"Well…"

"There are some things you gotta know about Tai beforehand, however." Ruby mused a moment. "He's completely selfless to a fault, he's charming, he's very silly, he's the most honest man I've ever met, he's a _fantastically_ bad cook, and he really _really_ puts his family ahead of everyone else. And news flash, Rae, that's you, me, and Qrow now."

"It is?"

"Absolutely. Honey, look. Taiyang is my best friend, and the sweetest guy you'll ever meet. You fussing about your outfit whether it's good enough means you actually care what he thinks, and I know for a fact _exactly_ what he thinks about you."

Raven narrowed her gaze, nervous of the answer to that.

"Wh-what's that?"

"Well I'm not gonna _tell_ you, you have to find that out on your own?"

"Fuckin' how?!"

She gestured to their surroundings.

"Exactly how you see us doing here. Casual, friendly conversation on a nice day in a nice part of town. You don't _have_ to go on romantic dates _every_ time you see him, that's just an extravagant waste of money. Simple stuff. A walk in the park, a bike ride, cheap movie night at the Apollo Theatre. That's tuesday nights, by the way."

"But…"

"I know what you might think, but that's really as simple as it needs to be. Tomorrow is an anomaly, where you're going out to a medium-nice restaurant. The next one can be as simple as a date to the Beacon Cliff with a picnic."

Raven blushed into her hot dog.

"That sounds really nice, actually."

"See? You're worrying yourself over nothing. Besides, Tai is harmless. You feel perfectly comfortable around me, right?"

"Well, yeah."

"He's exactly like me, only much taller and a guy. And blond. A-and with a poor sense of style. But otherwise, we are one and the same. I would swear to you that man was _my_ twin brother if we didn't have vastly different hair colours and body types. We have the same sense of humour, the same table manners, the same everything, except appearance. It'll be like dating me, only heterosexual."

"Uh… I guess I'm okay with that?"

"Youfugginbetterbe." she mumbled into a forkful of poutine.

"Excuse me?"

She swallowed.

"Don't worry about it. Tomorrow will be fine, and you'll look beautiful the whole time."

Raven nodded assuredly.

"Okay. I've got this. I think I can do it."

"That's the spirit. I'll even help you with your hair and makeup again tomorrow."

"Awesome. Only one more question."

She gestured for her to ask, mouth full of poutine.

"When is the right time to kiss him?"

Ruby blinked a few times and lowered her fork.

"Second date."

"Damn it."


End file.
